To me, retail golfer used to mean: a golfer who bought their equipment at a golf store, vs. buying their hooks at a pro shop. This fine line has changed over the years, the stores have all the gadgets now while the pro shops seem to sell for less. I recently heard this something like: "Go to Golftown, get measured up and then come back."
I've never heard it used to mean someone who paid full price to play golf. Aren't they called "punters" ? We need more of them anyway, a ratio of 9:1 would be great! :-)