Those dogs are either oversized or obese.

The breed standard for goldens is one of the few which has the weights and measurements of the dogs written in black and white. If a golden is correct size for the breed (23-24" at the shoulders for males, slightly shorter for bitches, weights for male dogs is written in as 65-74 pounds), s/he won't be more than 10 pounds below or 10 pounds above - without being too underweight or too overweight.

My 3 guys =

Bertie is 77 pounds.... and he is overweight! He needs to be closer to 72-74 pounds.

Jovi is 69 pounds and right about where I prefer to keep him weight wise.

Glee is 62 pounds (and has more growing to do). When he's done, he might be more in the 65-70 range.

 

So measure your dogs, OP, at the shoulder- and if they are within standard for height, they are overweight. If they are not but are taller, they are out of standard so might be heavier to account for appearing not to be obese.
If they were neutered before they were adult, their legs would be longer than they should be and they might be heavier as well.

 

My girl's parents were in the 65 to 70 range and amber is about 63 lbs so she is right where she should be. I think everyone in the states has texas syndrome. Too much is not enough when actually it is.

 

One is 26" and one is 27 inches at the shoulder and both dogs were neutered at 12 to 13 months to allow for total growth. Like I earlier mentioned, there are LOTS of big Goldens here in Calif.. I guess it's our sunshine and healthy lifestyles!

 

Male Goldens should be 23-24 inches @ the shoulder. There is an extra inch which should be penalized but is still considered 'in standard' though I usually hear 'in standard using the extra inch'...but yours are still outside that range. So they probably weigh more because they are taller than they should be. If bred to standard, size is very dependable as long as the dog is allowed to go thru puberty. Usually 12-13 months isn't old enough for puberty. The hormones actually stop the growing, so in reality, neutering early (like you did) really did 'allow for total growth' even though 'total growth' isn't the aim..
the sunshine isn't likely to be the cause of the preponderance of larger Goldens in CA- it's likely the social pressure for early neuters there.

 

They were just bred out of standard. There aren't 2 sizes of golden like others have started if they weren't neutered early.

Likely the reason is early neutering. 12 month neutering is technically before the closure of the growth plates (14-18 months). The issue is that neutering before the growth plates close, causes then to stay open longer caused by the loss of hormones and the long bones in the limbs grow for a longer period of time. This causes the dog to grow taller then it normally would or should. This also leads to a greater risk of CCL (ACL for people) tears. Usually the recommended age to neuter males (if you neuter) is 18-24 months.

 

Huh? Our vet, who is a very well known popular vet in this area, told us to wait until the pups were at least 11 to 12 months old, for their growth plates to close. Oh well, it is what it is and we love our big boys. But like I said, there are many, many big Goldens here. I see more big ones like ours than smaller ones when we go for our walk around the lake.

 

Great breeders on the West Coast most certainly breed according to the breed standard. The “small” Goldens that you see are likely within standard, while the big ones you see are way out of standard. There are many breeders that prioritize other things over sticking to the standard, or may even want to breed big dogs. In my area on the east coast I see many big Goldens too....but most of them do not come from good breeders.

Golden retrievers are NOT supposed to be a giant breed. The purpose that they are intentionally bred for requires a moderate dog. Not a huge one.

https://www.grca.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/II.F.6_-_FinalGRCAStudyGuide20151.pdf