![\"Golfshake](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/golfers-on-course-2012-2_ko0fnd.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\tASK golfers what they miss about the game from 20 years ago and you might expect them to start talking about persimmon woods, balata balls, old-fashioned clubhouses and a world without GPS watches.<\/p>\n
\tAnd, of course, some of them do.<\/p>\n
\tI loved my Wilson Staff persimmon woods. They were a work of art. Of course, the downside was that when they got wet they were liable to swell. And if you mishit a balata golf ball you would have to replace it immediately.<\/p>\n
\tBut when we asked golfers what they missed most about the game of 20 years ago, the answers told us rather more than that.<\/p>\n
\tThere was nostalgia for cheaper green fees, quicker rounds and a handicap system people understood. There were fond memories of Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods in his prime, Peter Alliss and golf on the BBC.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\tBut there was also something rather more personal going on.<\/p>\n
\tPeople remembered who they played with. They remembered being able to turn up without booking. They remembered 36-hole days, works outings and afternoons in the clubhouse.<\/p>\n
\tAnd quite a few concluded that what they really miss about golf 20 years ago is being 20 years younger. This is something I can most definitely relate to. At my advanced age I have lost around 50 yards from the tee!<\/p>\n
\tWe reviewed hundreds of comments on a recent social survey we ran and, inevitably, many answers overlapped. This is not a scientific poll but there were some recurring themes.<\/p>\n
\tHere are the 10 things golfers told us they miss most.<\/p>\n
\t10. The Equipment We Used To Love<\/p>\n
\tGolfers have always been obsessed with equipment, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that plenty of old names came flooding back.<\/p>\n
\tBalata balls. Dunlop 65s. Pinnacles. Molitors. Bullseye putters. Hippo drivers. Ashworth shirts.<\/p>\n
\tModern golf equipment is unquestionably more forgiving and technologically advanced, but that doesn’t stop us becoming misty-eyed about the clubs and balls we grew up with.<\/p>\n
\tAnd sometimes, apparently, there is no need to change anything at all.<\/p>\n
\t\t“Everything except my putter which I’ve had since 1966”<\/p>\n
\tThere is probably a lesson in there for anybody currently considering spending \u00a3500 on a new flat stick.<\/p>\n
\tIt is worth noting that as good as our persimmon drivers were, as much as we loved our bladed irons there is something nobody can deny – they were far less forgiving than today\u2019s equipment.<\/p>\n
\t9. Just Turning Up And Playing<\/p>\n
\tRemember when playing golf did not always involve opening an app several days beforehand?<\/p>\n
\tFor some golfers, one of the biggest changes has been the disappearance of spontaneity.<\/p>\n
\t\t\u201cJust rock up put your ball in the chute and play, great camaraderie”<\/p>\n
\tAnother remembered:<\/p>\n
\t\t\u201cJust turn up and play…not booking a tee time a week in advance”<\/p>\n
\tOnline booking has brought obvious benefits. We know when we’re playing, courses can manage their tee sheets more effectively and nobody has to sit around wondering when they might get out.<\/p>\n
\tBut convenience has come at a price.<\/p>\n
\tThere was something wonderfully simple about arriving at the club, putting your ball in the chute and waiting your turn. And several respondents clearly associate that system with a more sociable atmosphere too.<\/p>\n
\tPerhaps making golf more organised has also made it a little less spontaneous.<\/p>\n
\tMy memories are somewhat different. I recall having to turn up at an ungodly hour, joining a huge queue of people to book a time at the pro\u2019s shop. Or getting on the phone and having to be prepared to wait for an eternity to get through in order to book a tee-time.<\/p>\n
\t8. The Characters – And Watching Golf On The BBC<\/p>\n
\tSeve. Tiger. Peter Alliss.<\/p>\n
\tSometimes a few names are all you need to transport yourself back to another golfing age.<\/p>\n
\tThere was plenty of affection for Seve Ballesteros in the responses, including one golfer with a memory that is going to be difficult for any of us to beat:<\/p>\n
\t\t“Having the great privilege to caddy for Seve Ballesteros”<\/p>\n
\tOthers recalled “Tiger in his prime”, while Peter Alliss and the BBC’s golf coverage were repeatedly mentioned.<\/p>\n
\tOne respondent summed up what they missed as: “Peter Alliss – characters and etiquette”<\/p>\n
\tAnother simply said: “BBC coverage”<\/p>\n
\tPerhaps what people miss isn’t necessarily better golf coverage but a different relationship with it. Familiar voices, familiar faces and personalities who felt as though they were part of the furniture.<\/p>\n
\tAnd in Seve, of course, golf possessed somebody who could make you stop whatever you were doing and watch.<\/p>\n
\tThere is something else – I watch a lot of golf on Sky. The camerawork is astonishing, the commentators are mostly superb and the many innovations enhance my viewing experience. But please don\u2019t get me started on the interminable advertising breaks!<\/p>\n
\t7. Friends, Family And The 19th Hole<\/p>\n
\t![\"Social](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/golfshake-2010_yujwfv.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\tThis was not quite as frequently mentioned as handicaps or green fees, but it may be the most important theme of all.<\/p>\n
\tGolf is unusual because we can play it for decades. That means our memories of the game become intertwined with memories of the people who shared it with us<\/a>.<\/p>\n \tOne golfer said they missed: “My son. Still at home then playing golf with him”<\/p>\n \tAnother remembered: “It was the then company when my brother and Dad were living and workmates who all played golf – but present day friendship is most acceptable”<\/p>\n \tThat is the thing about looking back 20 years. You start by remembering golf and end up remembering people.<\/p>\n \tThe scorecard from an ordinary Saturday fourball may have disappeared years ago, but you remember who stood beside you on the first tee.<\/p>\n \tAnd that is worth considerably more than whatever you shot.<\/p>\n \tAnd surely, in that respect at least, nothing much has changed.<\/p>\n \t6. Three-Hour Rounds<\/p>\n \tAh yes. Remember those?<\/p>\n \tOne response required no elaboration whatsoever:<\/p>\n \t\t\u201cThree-hour rounds”<\/p>\n \tAnother combined two recurring complaints:<\/p>\n \t\t“The old handicap system and three hours for 18 holes”<\/p>\n \tPace of play is hardly a new subject<\/a>, but what was particularly interesting was that some respondents blamed habits that have filtered down from the professional game.<\/p>\n \tOne said: “Players not wasting time lining up putts with a line on the ball. Noone did that 20 years ago”<\/p>\n \tAnd another: “Not having 20+ handicappers getting range finders out for every approach.”<\/p>\n \tThere is a serious point here. Technology is supposed to make things easier. But has the amateur game also become too obsessed with precision?<\/p>\n \tMost of us don’t need to know whether the flag is 147 or 149 yards away. We need to hit the ball, find it and hit it again. Preferably before darkness falls.<\/p>\n \tHmmm\u2026.I well remember the days when a round of golf in a fourball took no longer than three-and-a-half hours but I have to say that back then there appeared to be more of an appreciation of golf etiquette, when slower groups would automatically wave you through. I do not recall the last time I was waved through. I now accept that if I am playing in a fourball then it is going to take me the thick end of five hours.<\/p>\n \tAnd I DO KNOW how far I hit the ball with each club so a rangefinder has actually been a game changer for me.<\/p>\n \t5. Cheaper Golf<\/p>\n \tNobody will be shocked to discover this one.<\/p>\n \tGolfers remember cheaper green fees<\/a>, cheaper equipment, cheaper drinks and cheaper days out.<\/p>\n \tOne respondent recalled: “\u00a350 winter green fee on some of the great courses.”<\/p>\n \tAnother specifically missed the: “Price of green fees, especially in Scotland.”<\/p>\n \tBut perhaps the best description of what has changed came from somebody remembering the traditional works outing “Works outings, cheap as chips, breakfast 18 holes lunch 18 holes dinner then a good bucket at the end of the day”<\/p>\n \tQuite apart from wondering how anybody survived breakfast, 36 holes, lunch, dinner and a “good bucket” afterwards, it paints a picture of golf as an entire day rather than a carefully budgeted four-hour slot.<\/p>\n \tOf course, prices have risen everywhere during the past two decades and golf clubs face costs of their own.<\/p>\n \tBut the perception among these golfers is unmistakable: golf used to feel more affordable.<\/p>\n \tI suspect there is an element of rose-tinted spectacles going on here. In my experience, playing quality golf courses has ALWAYS been expensive.<\/p>\n \t4. Etiquette, Manners And Respect For The Game<\/p>\n \tThis produced some of the strongest reactions.<\/p>\n \t\t“Basic golf etiquette and manners on the course.”<\/p>\n \tAnother golfer missed \u201crespect for the game, and the course.”<\/p>\n \tAnd one expanded on the theme: “The good manners and the etiquette, it seems to have disappeared, and of course the tradition which to many seem outdated .”<\/p>\n \tWe should be careful here.<\/p>\n \tIt would be easy to turn this into the familiar argument that everything was wonderful in the old days and today’s golfers don’t know how to behave. That isn’t something these responses prove.<\/p>\n
![\"Simpler](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/golfshake-2012_k3oj7b.jpg\")
<\/p>\n