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. He narrates the majority of Wodehouse's golf stories from the terrace of a golf club whose location is unclear.^[1] The location and name of the club change between the stories, and between the US and UK versions of some of the stories.

The club's members enjoy having drinks in the clubhouse after a brisk eighteen holes; but they do so fully aware of the risk that the Oldest Member who, (though he has long since given up golf) has seen all and knows all, might pick up on their conversation and begin to relate a story from his experience. These stories are often told to another character, a 'young man' who is eager to leave before the story has even started, and who occasionally fall asleep before or after the story has started. Once he has started talking, he cannot be stopped, and frequently grabs the arms and clothing of his unwilling audience to keep them in their seats.

Isaac Asimov used a similar format for his Union Club Mysteries.