In 1934 Bernard Darwin wrote a commentary on Sandy Lodge Golf Club. It was not printed, however, until 1960, the club's 50th anniversary. It's rather long-winded and indulgent - he needed a good editor! - but here's a quote from it:
I mentioned the bunkers but they are not the only
things on the course to remind us of the sea. The putting
greens are of true seaside quality: nay, they have a quality
which seaside greens once possessed but in many cases
have lost.
What had happened to seaside greens before 1934?