Neil,
Yes, the playing experience is different; there's plenty of skill involved albeit different, and it can get just as exiting!
I believe that modern rods absorb much more of the kicks than was formerly the case, and that you feel far less as a result, and this is one of the reasons for far fewer hook pulls. I've tried alternating with a 30 year old glass rod and the difference is incredible, even more so if you use a cane rod, I believe.
In some circumstances a pole can offer considerable advantages in playing fish as well as in bait presentation. What is true and often not realised by those that haven't used one, is that fish react differently when played with elastic. Some fish that you'd think would be impossible to land because they tend to run fast plod around and can be beaten easily. Pike are the best example. I've hooked many smallish pike 4 - 7 pound when light floatfishing and they've snaffled the small roach I was playing; on a rod I rarely land them yet in the same swims on a pole the pike is easily defeated and landed despite the light line. Those that have fished for average barbel have had the same though I haven't done this. Of course the elastic and tackle have to be matched right. The hardest fish to land seem to be the match size carp.
