I had a similar experience to the OP in that I didn't play much between 1999 and 2006. In '99 I was using a Great Big Bertha driver which was massive when I bought it, however tiny by comparison to the clubs of today.
New club technology has radically changed the ability of the average golfer to hit 'long drives'. Even though we don't all hit the 300 yard drives we pretend to, 230-250 is now relatively commonplace.
I'm hugely in favour of the new technology - I believe it makes the game more enjoyable for the average player. The only sad thing is the loss of many of the classic old courses from the professional rotation along with the insensitive lengthening of many courses to keep them current. Over Christmas I had a look at the work being done on the 17th at St Andrews to build a new tee. I agree the new tee will return danger, challenge and excitement to the hole but it also radically changes what has been unchanged for a century and there is definetly something sad about that.