For the past couple Xmas holidays, I have given a couple of dear friends Delta Elite racks and included leather inserts since they have pool tables. When I play on their tables, I enjoy racking pool balls that I’ve done all my life before plastic templates came along, even the sound.
The room I called home during my misspent youth is long gone. But I still have that solid oak wooden rack with the room's name engraved on one side from Table 9, the only 9 footer in the room. Sure it would get a little sticky from time to time from hand oils and humidity. But that's nothing a little wipe down couldn't fix. Thanks for taking me back.
I do still prefer a well built rack. There was something about the balls not always being perfectly racked that made the game a little more interesting and unpredictable. Having said that, I get the need for templates, particularly in the professional realm. If for no other reason, some people got a little too good at racking perfectly imperfect. Of course, there are still moves with a template rack. But it's not quite as easy as it was with a standard rack.