It's fashionable for celebrities to arrange job swops for some extra publicity. Liz Hurley becomes a school cook for the day - that sort of thing. Now, suppose the Chairman of the USGA Championship Committee and the Chairman of the R&A Championship Committee were to exchange jobs right now what would be the effects on Royal Liverpool and Winged Foot and on the two Open Championships.
They start in their new posts on Monday. They have complete, unchallengeable authority to do anything in the preparation of their new charge between now and the relevant Open. They cannot change the architecture - no new bunkers or tees, felling or planting of trees, and certainly no rebuilding of holes. But they can make the fairways any width they like given the ground on which they are working; the rough can be grown any way and any height they like; the greens can be prepared at any speed, collars of rough shaved off or grown deep, pins cut wherever they say.
Of course, both would be far too wise to try to impose their way of doing things on the other organisation, but just suppose all that power just went to their heads.....