I've been mulling over an idea that nobody seems to be talking about. A bifurcation like F1 and NASCAR. Two leagues. One uses all the technology they want (like F1), and play on the newest and "best" courses that are 8000 yards+, and another league that uses a stock set of clubs (everyone has effectively the same equipment, like NASCAR), and they play the classic clubs at classic distances, or even shorter courses.
A standard, stock set of clubs would do wonders for creating a flat set of set of criteria for manufactures. Manufactures could even be see this as an ability to get most players buying two complete sets instead of one! It would also go leaps and bounds for:
1. Making golf cheaper for those who see it as expensive.
2. Creating a better framework for NASCAR-league professionals playing classic courses.
3. Connecting your weekend player to the NASCAR-league pros, by literally playing the exact same equipment.
4. Creating an inter-generational thread so that distances and dispersion across time is accurate.
Finally, when it comes to the ball, one of the biggest knocks on golf I see that come from myself and other long-term environmentally minded folks, is that golf is currently a form of organized littering. Having a stock ball that is made from (at least) some type of inert or mostly degradable material, instead of the current polybutadiene, that can leach heavy metals into the water table over time (shout out to Dixon golf for using salts instead), having one stock ball that was made of, say, rubber, would be really fantastic on the perceptions about golf's impact.
Just my two cents of bifurcation, though i realize it's a pipe dream. I agree that golf technology is interesting and I'd like to follow it. I also agree that it makes many courses no longer feasible venues, especially one's we'd like to see as relevant. I think just having two leagues is a way to make everyone happy, and we can see from F1 and NASCAR that this dual model can be very successful.