Oldest Member (character)

The Oldest Member (of a golf club with varying names) is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse.

[3] He appears to be in his seventies or older, since in "The Letter of the Law", he says he went to Oxford with his friend Joseph Poskitt, one of the Wrecking Crew,[4] who are all described as septuagenarians in "Scratch Man".

In that story, the Oldest Member tells of a time when he was a young man shortly after finishing his college education.

[6] The Oldest Member's fictional golf club is given various names, including Wood Hills, Woodhaven, Marvis Bay, and Manhooset.

[7] In "Sundered Hearts", which the Oldest Member narrates on a winter evening, he has a good view of the ninth green from inside the clubhouse in the smoking-room.

The Oldest Member does not hesitate to offer helpful advice, though his suggestions sometimes have mixed results, such as in "The Salvation of George Mackintosh".

Revering golf above all other games, he is shocked when golfer Ambrose Gussett sinks to the level of playing tennis in "Up from the Depths".

[11] In "The Awakening of Rollo Podmarsh", it is mentioned that he had opposed the addition of tennis courts to the club grounds and now disapproves of a new bowling green.

[15] However, because of the discrepancies between the stories, J. H. C. Morris suggested in his book Thank You, Wodehouse that there are at least three characters with that title: one who attended Oxford, another who went to Cambridge (and one of these resides at Marvis Bay while the other does not), and an American one.

William Mervyn portrayed the Oldest Member in an episode of the television series Wodehouse Playhouse, "Rodney Fails to Qualify", which first aired in May 1975.