My Dad got back into the game when he was 43. He quickly replaced the hickory shafted sticks with a set of the new Pings, this was in 1966. I was 10 and old enough to get on the course, 10 years was the age limit at our course. 4 or 5 days a week we would drive to the course in the dark and play 9 holes in the dew. I would leave my clubs at the course and ride home with him to do my chores then ride my bike back out and play another 9 or hunt for balls and look in the trash cans for gloves that had a little use left in them. I don't think I played a new ball until I was in my 20's. I carried my clubs home on my bike.
After no golf military service I bought a used set of Hogan PC's and got back at it. I took a job building courses and did that for over 20 years. The best years of my life. Funny thing is that I could play a complimentary round at dozens of courses across the country and never had the time. I was always invited to the big Opening Day celebration, but was usually 1000 miles away knee deep in mud, doing it all again.
Golf has always been the best thing in my life, even when I didn't play for years it was the one common part of my life that tied all the good things in my life together, all of them.