Comfortably Lomb said:
I do think if the PGA Tour decides to play by different rules it's pretty much the end of the USGA and R&A. Once the pros are playing by different rules why is there any reason to pay attention to the self-anointed governing bodies?
Not so fast. I don't think you can classify either the R&A or USGA as "self-anointed." Hell, they FOUNDED the sport in their respective "spheres of influence", with the R&A forming in 17-fucking-94, and the USGA in 1894. Who else was going to "anoint" them? The PGA didn't rear its head until 1916, and it was established as a "players' organization", ostensibly to be governed by the rules established by the two founding bodies. To me, that makes sense.
And the PGA Tour Card list at any particular time is made up of 125 qualifying members and a secondary "cut" of "conditional" players up to 150. On the other hand, there is something northward of 50-million amateurs, and pros of various lesser-PGA levels who are playing to USGA and R&A rules.
Now I know everyone envisions themselves on the golf course as masters at the top of the leaderboard during their "competitive" round of golf on Sunday, while lugging around a case of beer and a pack of Cohibas, but the PGA bucking the USGA and R&A ain't gonna happen so that the rest of us can feel that we are somehow closer to "reaching the Tour" with a new set of "PGA rules".
IOW, I think you have that bassackwards.