ASK 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.
And, of course, some of them do.
I 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.
But when we asked golfers what they missed most about the game of 20 years ago, the answers told us rather more than that.
There 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.
But there was also something rather more personal going on.
People 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.
And 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!
We 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.
Here are the 10 things golfers told us they miss most.
10. The Equipment We Used To Love
Golfers have always been obsessed with equipment, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that plenty of old names came flooding back.
Balata balls. Dunlop 65s. Pinnacles. Molitors. Bullseye putters. Hippo drivers. Ashworth shirts.
Modern 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.
And sometimes, apparently, there is no need to change anything at all.
"Everything except my putter which I've had since 1966"
There is probably a lesson in there for anybody currently considering spending £500 on a new flat stick.
It 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’s equipment.
9. Just Turning Up And Playing
Remember when playing golf did not always involve opening an app several days beforehand?
For some golfers, one of the biggest changes has been the disappearance of spontaneity.
“Just rock up put your ball in the chute and play, great camaraderie"
Another remembered:
“Just turn up and play...not booking a tee time a week in advance"
Online 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.
But convenience has come at a price.
There 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.
Perhaps making golf more organised has also made it a little less spontaneous.
My 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’s 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.
8. The Characters - And Watching Golf On The BBC
Seve. Tiger. Peter Alliss.
Sometimes a few names are all you need to transport yourself back to another golfing age.
There 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:
"Having the great privilege to caddy for Seve Ballesteros"
Others recalled "Tiger in his prime", while Peter Alliss and the BBC's golf coverage were repeatedly mentioned.
One respondent summed up what they missed as: "Peter Alliss - characters and etiquette"
Another simply said: "BBC coverage"
Perhaps 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.
And in Seve, of course, golf possessed somebody who could make you stop whatever you were doing and watch.
There 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’t get me started on the interminable advertising breaks!
7. Friends, Family And The 19th Hole
This was not quite as frequently mentioned as handicaps or green fees, but it may be the most important theme of all.
Golf 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.
One golfer said they missed: "My son. Still at home then playing golf with him"
Another 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"
That is the thing about looking back 20 years. You start by remembering golf and end up remembering people.
The scorecard from an ordinary Saturday fourball may have disappeared years ago, but you remember who stood beside you on the first tee.
And that is worth considerably more than whatever you shot.
And surely, in that respect at least, nothing much has changed.
6. Three-Hour Rounds
Ah yes. Remember those?
One response required no elaboration whatsoever:
“Three-hour rounds"
Another combined two recurring complaints:
"The old handicap system and three hours for 18 holes"
Pace of play is hardly a new subject, but what was particularly interesting was that some respondents blamed habits that have filtered down from the professional game.
One said: "Players not wasting time lining up putts with a line on the ball. Noone did that 20 years ago"
And another: "Not having 20+ handicappers getting range finders out for every approach."
There is a serious point here. Technology is supposed to make things easier. But has the amateur game also become too obsessed with precision?
Most 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.
Hmmm….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.
And I DO KNOW how far I hit the ball with each club so a rangefinder has actually been a game changer for me.
5. Cheaper Golf
Nobody will be shocked to discover this one.
Golfers remember cheaper green fees, cheaper equipment, cheaper drinks and cheaper days out.
One respondent recalled: "£50 winter green fee on some of the great courses."
Another specifically missed the: "Price of green fees, especially in Scotland."
But 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"
Quite 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.
Of course, prices have risen everywhere during the past two decades and golf clubs face costs of their own.
But the perception among these golfers is unmistakable: golf used to feel more affordable.
I suspect there is an element of rose-tinted spectacles going on here. In my experience, playing quality golf courses has ALWAYS been expensive.
4. Etiquette, Manners And Respect For The Game
This produced some of the strongest reactions.
"Basic golf etiquette and manners on the course."
Another golfer missed “respect for the game, and the course."
And 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 ."
We should be careful here.
It 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.
But they do show that a sizeable group of golfers feel something has been lost.
Golf has worked hard to become more relaxed, inclusive and welcoming. That is a good thing.
The challenge is ensuring that relaxing some of the game's stuffier conventions doesn't mean losing the worthwhile ones - repairing pitch marks, raking bunkers, letting quicker groups through, respecting fellow players and looking after the course.
You can lose the tie without losing the manners.
There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that standards of etiquette and behaviour have fallen. And dramatically so. My perception is that increasing numbers of golfers do not know the rules properly, take far too long to look for lost balls, fail to hit provisional drives, almost never wave through quicker groups, play golf while drunk and behave poorly - to say the very least.
3. The Old Handicap System
Now we get to one of the subjects that really stirs people up.
For many respondents, CSS, buffer zones, CONGU and the dreaded 0.1 increase are remembered with surprising affection.
One golfer put it rather forcefully: "The CSS, buffer zone and reductions only. In other words, genuine handicaps"
Another remembered the tactical calculations that used to accompany a competition round: "Going into the back nine (after a poor front nine)knowing what I needed to get in the Buffer zone in a comp. Good or bad outcome, it was always a fair outcome."
Whether the old system actually produced "fairer" handicaps is an argument for another day.
The significant thing here is the perception.
A number of respondents clearly trusted the old system more. They understood what would happen to their handicap after a round and why.
WHS may be more sophisticated, but sophisticated and popular are not always the same thing.
Sometimes golfers simply want to understand what on earth is going on.
I have played this sport for longer than I care to remember and the one issue that has always divided golfers is the handicap system. For what it’s worth, I believe the current system is the best I have ever experienced. But, like everything else, it can be abused.
2. A Simpler Game
This wasn't always expressed as a single answer, but it runs through an enormous number of the comments.
No booking apps. Fewer gadgets. No rangefinder for every shot. Less elaborate putting routines. A handicap calculation you could follow. Turn up, put your ball in the chute and play.
Golf 20 years ago is remembered as being simpler.
Was it actually simpler?
Perhaps.
Or perhaps we simply didn't have a smartphone in our pocket telling us there were 17 different things we needed to think about before hitting a seven iron.
Technology has improved golf in countless ways. GPS devices are useful. Online booking is convenient. Modern clubs are extraordinary. Course information has never been easier to obtain.
But there is something attractive about stripping it all away.
Ball. Clubs. Course.
Off you go.
One of the shortest responses to our question may have summed up the feeling better than anything else: "Fun"
Maybe that is what golfers really mean when they say the game used to be simpler.
I don’t know about you, but for me golf is all about having fun in the company of like-minded people.
1. Being 20 Years Younger
And so we arrive at the runaway winner.
Not Seve.
Not three-hour rounds.
Not cheaper green fees.
Not even the old handicap system.
What golfers miss most about golf 20 years ago is, apparently, themselves.
There were complaints about backs, knees, lost distance, declining flexibility and bodies that now object rather strongly to being asked to walk 18 holes.
One respondent missed "not having a sore back for a couple of days after each round."
Another remembered: "A fit body that could walk up to 36 holes in a day with the clubs."
Then there are the inevitable complaints about distance: "The 30 yards I’ve lost off the tee!"
And perhaps our favourite: "Being able to hit it past my shadow"
But one golfer dispensed with all unnecessary detail: "Being 20 years younger!"
And there, perhaps, lies the real answer to the question.
We can complain about WHS, green fees, slow play, booking systems and rangefinders. We can miss Peter Alliss and Seve Ballesteros. We can convince ourselves that everybody repaired their pitch marks in 2006 and that every round took precisely three hours.
But nostalgia is a funny thing.
When we remember golf 20 years ago, we don't just remember the game.
We remember being able to swing without something hurting. We remember the people we played with. We remember long summer evenings, golf trips, works outings, fathers, brothers, sons, daughters, uncles and friends.
We remember hitting the ball further - or at least we think we hit it further.
I know I hit it further 20 years ago. I can see the evidence with my own eyes. I also know that our post-round conversations now all seem to revolve around injuries, operations and hospital waiting lists.
So do we really miss the golf of 20 years ago?
Yes, probably.
It may have felt cheaper, quicker, simpler and more spontaneous. And many golfers clearly believe some of the game's traditional standards have been diluted along the way.
But more than anything else, perhaps we miss how golf felt 20 years ago.
And unfortunately, there isn't an app, a new driver or a handicap system in the world that can give us that back.
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