Ahhh--Those were the days. I played most of the muni courses in the Rochester area, but my favorite was the Durand-Eastman Park course, which I later learned was attributed, in part, to a famous designer. i never gave any thought to the design of a golf course in the '60s or early '70s. Nor did I give any thought to, or heard any comment about, the condition of the course, speed of the greens, or similar factors. My mindset, and that of my buddies, was to play the course as it was. We just concentrated on our games. I remember that is you weren't at the first tee before 6:30 am, especially on weekends, you were relegated to a place in a long line of golfers waiting to start their round. That wasn't the worst thing in the world, given the friendly banter that often took place. i don't recall any grumpy old men, but I recall some crusty old men who shared many tidbits of wisdom about the course, and the game, if you were lucky enough to be paired with them. I do recall that if you were late in getting out on the course, you were likely to have a slow day. A 6 hour round at Durand, during the 1974 season, caused me to tell my wife, "Next year, we're joining a private club.": In fact, we did. That's when I discovered that having grass on the tees was possible, and expected. That's also when I discovered that the designer of the course was significant (in my case, it was Walter Travis).
Sometime in the late '60s, I bought a set of PowerBilts (no, not with persimmon heads). It was about that time that I first broke 90. I didn't pay much attention to the type of ball. I could hit the ball pretty far--compared to my playing partners--but, I never knew whether I was going to be deep in the woods on the right, or on the left. There was a 190 yard par 3 at Durand that I could reach with my 3-wood.
I ddidn't take lessons till I was in my 60s, though I maintained an 11-12 handicap for most of my golfing life. Those lessons in the '90s helped me get down into the single digits. I learned much more about the game, it's history, and it's pioneers, but I'm not sure I enjoyed the game any more than those days when the only thing that mattered was the shot in front of me.