Golden Retrievers are lovely. They are also arseholes.
They are beautiful to look at (if you click on the current 'Dog Adolescent' thread, you'll see one of mine + some puppies if you want to go 'awww'), but there is far more to them than good looks and shedding.
They stay young for years - my youngest is 2.5 now and still a massive bellend - and that means that they can be frustratingly idiotic. They will do stupid things, and not understand that they're being naughty and think it's all a big game (because to them, it is). It's incredibly easy to find that frustrating, because it is, but they are also very sensitive and so you can't find it frustrating.
They are also, incredibly, intelligent when they want to be. Lots will be happy not being particularly entertained, but even if you get one like that you need to be aware that they will find their own mischief (and they can be massive diggers). Yes, they are food motivated, but they can also be independent and irritating (see above about staying young for a long time).
They can be incredibly high energy, even the show lines. Just because one person's Golden Retriever is fine with 60 minutes a day does not mean yours will be - and whilst people say 'my Golden is five with 60 minutes' that may be the case, but I guarantee the dog would be much happier with more. Lots of people underestimate their exercise needs and think because they don't protest the way a GSD might, that it's okay. My eldest is 13 and she is still capable of doing 3-4 mile walks every morning and then doing the same in the evening. She gets at least 90 minutes of exercise a day (breed life expectancy is about 10 - 12 years these days) so by her age she should have slowed down massively. I know lots of other show Golden's like her. And again, if they are not properly exercised = mischief.
They are prone to all manner of expensive and life-limiting health conditions (Eyes, Dysplasia, Heart defects) as well as susceptible to other issues like bloat, cancer etc. My boy costs £75 a month to insure (£15K cover - anything less really won't get you far if there is a serious issue), and over £150 a month to feed. They are expensive.
They are strong and therefore good training, as I am sure you know, is sooo important - I often see people walking retrievers (including labs) and they're being pulled along by them, or the dog lunges to say hi to someone and they stagger after them.
They can be prone to resource guarding, and to excessive mouthing. The latter isn't too problematic - although it makes them badly suited to families with young children IME because children wind them up and can make the mouthing worse - the former is quite problematic, as people don't tend to expect it and often aren't equipped to handle it with such a large breed.
All that being said, I would never be without a Goldie. They are perfect.
There are literally thousands of Golden Retriever breeders in the UK. That doesn't make buying a well-bred Golden Retriever easy. In fact, it's incredibly difficult to find one who will have done all the health tests you want on both parents (and grandparents etc), let alone hits all the other criteria.