I have a more positive take on what a roll back would represent for manufacturers and the TOUR.
Having worked for a large equipment manufacturer it's no surprise that any type of roll back or bifurcation on equipment - drivers, metalwoods, ball, etc. - is feared due to revenue risk. The number of golfers is flat to down every year, technology is at the point of marginal gains and the marketing stories get more and more ludicrous. Having PGA TOUR pros play a different
"short flight" ball would crush the OEMs so they're lobbying like energy companies facing undeniable climate change science.
Even if technology doesn't improve anymore, younger generations will continue to shorten the length of courses due to the understanding and measurement of biomechanics (through video, launch monitors, etc.) along with the ability to specifically personalize clubs, especially metalwoods, through TrackMan and head/shaft combinations to optimize launch conditions and spin. That is where the BIG gain has occurred in the last decade.
A large number of "millennial" golfers whom I worked with in the industry were taught to swing out of their shoes at a young age because of the larger faced drivers and lower spinning balls. None of them were even close to making it on TOUR, but many of them could hit the ball as long or longer than TOUR Pros because it's really all about swing speed with the driver and these guys could go really low on a good day playing "bomb and gauge."
100 vs 110 vs 120 mph driver SS provides a DRASTIC difference in distance with a properly fit club and ball. If you are swinging around 100 then you're probably driving it around 250 to 260 IF OPTIMIZED but if you are swinging around 115 to 120 (which is a normal "athletic" swing for college kids and younger pros) you can be CARRYING the ball 300+ and keeping it in play which is obviously a massive advantage.
With the ability to manipulate CT across the face with metalwoods and irons, manufacturers have created 3 woods that high swing speed golfers can now hit over 300 yards as well. Henrik Stenson's magical Diablo and Rory's M 3 wood are just two examples, and this all started with RBZ 6 years ago and most people weren't optimizing their head/shaft combination then. Jason Day was also shown in ads hitting the M2 4 iron 250+ yards.
Swing Speed + Technology + Club Fitting = Obsolete Courses for a growing number of golfers.
The ball is obviously the most obvious issue, but just having a shorter flight or higher spinning ball probably won't solve the problem.
The high handicap golfer has received the least amount of benefit from modern technology which is why I wonder if bifurcation is the optimal solution. If the USGA and R&A rolled back the rules on balls and clubs, then the equipment companies would be in the same place they are now - competing for marginal gains, and golfers would be in the same place they are now - purchasing what the pros are playing in the hopes of finding free strokes (unsuccessfully).
Manufacturer revenue would go up initially as golfers transition away from their illegal clubs and golf balls (lottery time) and then it would be back to normal business trying to eek out gains playing within the new rules.
If you go back and watch some of the old Shell Wonderful World of Golf episodes it's pretty compelling to witness some of the best pros in the world hitting absolute garbage tee shots after missing the sweet spot on their persimmon drivers and having to skillfully recover from the boondocks. Then in contrast, watching Hogan put on a total ball striking clinic hitting every fairway and green. Golf was a game of skill and all about ball control, in every facet of the game.
Tiger Woods didn't happen because of technology and he would have been even more dominant if technology hadn't evolved rapidly during the early 2000's allowing other less skilled Pros to pick up distance. Golf didn't grow in the early 2000's because of technology, it grew because of Tiger.
The increases in technology prevent golf from having more stand out stars which significantly benefits the game. Nobody cares if a no name automaton pro wins a tournament and that is happening more and more often because of how technology levels the playing field with high swing speed golfers.
The entertainment value on the PGA Tour would absolutely increase if technology was rolled back. 5 irons into greens versus Wedges - Yes please! Never mind the fact that more interesting courses could host tournaments, fewer resources would be required for course maintenance across the spectrum, etc.
I can still remember caddying at a Pro-Am where Christy O'Connor and Liam Higgins were hitting from the Medal Tees which were about 10 to 20 yards behind the Member Tees on average. The group wandered the course together having a great chat all round. Today "the tips" are in a different zip code from the members tees and for what? Nothing about golf is more interesting now than it was 20+ years ago. In fact, it's much less interesting because pros and ams are playing a different game entirely.