Golden Delicious were my favorite variety as a kid/teen in the early 90s, and they never seemed to have the problems you describe back then. Very crisp, with just the right amount of sweet and juicy. I started noticing them going downhill probably in the late 90s or 00s-- I think something went sideways with their cultivation &/or supply chain. Similar thing happened with Red Delicious, I can occasionally still find a good one but they're usually inedible.
Wow, that matches my experience - but I thought I had just developed a more refined taste. Golden and Red are almost and completely inedible to me, respectively.
They do this horror show where they pick them green and then store them for too long, after which they ripen them with ethylene gas and sell them.
I think it happened to Fuji and Gala sometime in the last 5 years. Honeycrisp still doesn't have the volume, so it goes to market without the horror show and is thus still crisp and delightful.
