Very excited in the past by golf (4)
I believe the answer is:
agog
'very excited' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'past by golf' is the wordplay.
'past' becomes 'ago' (similar in meaning).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'golf' becomes 'g' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'ago'+'g'='AGOG'
'in the' is the link.
(Other definitions for agog that I've seen before include "Interested, excited and eager to know more" , "Highly excited in anticipation" , "Impatient" , "Eagerly awaiting" , "with eyes on stalks" .)