Perhaps we have different ideas of "take on." First off, what you describe fits neither my father nor my grandfathers. As far as I know, none ever played even

Perhaps we have different ideas of "take on." First off, what you describe fits neither my father nor my grandfathers. As far as I know, none ever played even a round of golf, much less pursued it. Golf has a reputation of being a rich (upper middle class or higher), white, suburban sport, for people with plenty of leisure time to get in a full 18 holes. The working class and lower middle class sport was bowling. That makes me think it's more likely associated with social class dynamics of the mid-20th century than waiting until one turns 50-something to take on a certain role. That is, did your father at age 20 decide that at age 50 he would get a cardigan and slippers? Or was it an image that was was marketed to members of the professional class, which he adopted? 30 years previous, when he was 20, were the 50 years olds also doing the cardigan, slipper and golf thing? Because I don't think that was the case. I don't think he took on the role that was established for 50 years, but rather helped establish the culturally correct role for people of his social class. I agree with the "different world". While many like to hype the speed of change in the modern world, I am of the minority view that the world has changed less, in the social sense, in the last 40 years than the previous 40 years. Earlier this year I was reading some letters written in the late 1940s, where the family was deciding to buy a fridge. The mid-20th century brought so many changes that Toffler's 'Future Shock' became an international bestseller.