I understand the principle Joel is espousing, but he doesn't seem to understand it himself
Back when sheepherders were stuffing feathers into leather patches and knocking them into gopher holes to pass the time in Scotland, they didn't have range finders. They also didn't have markers at 100, 150 and 200 yards; what we're talking about with range finders is purely a matter of degree, not a matter of major departure from tradition.
If we're taking this "real golf" thing to its natural conclusion, we'd have to forget about sand wedges (invented in the '20s), and we couldn't have spikes (soft or otherwise) on our shoes, or a glove. Woods would really be woods, preferably persimmon, and all clubs would have hickory shafts. We would still be stymying opponents on the green. Nobody would wear short pants. There would be no golf carts -- including pull-type carts.
Now, there is one possibility that kinda intrigues me. What if there were a "game within the game," a subset of golf that required players to use no equipment or rules that date from after, say, 1900? That might be fun.
And then instead of grabbing a beer after our round in the clubhouse we could pillage a village and rape their women...sounds great!
