Weirfan
Excellent points. Bifurcation, for all intents and purposes, already exists today. There's a lot of equipment the pros play regularly that the everyday amateurs will never have access to, ever.
There's other aspects too, though. Although obviously the PGA Tour would prefer to be in harmony with the USGA regarding rules and conforming equipment, they're ultimately charged with protecting the entertainment value of their product. There was noticeable fallout with the anchoring ban from a select few. Yet it was a small percentage, and besides... as we've seen since then by numerous players - it's not strictly enforced. The USGA made a rule, one that many deemed trivial and unneeded, and because it was impossible to enforce (player integrity being the ultimate determining factor) it has had little impact in the game at that level. Yet it created a good deal of grief in a lot of amateur club-golf circles. "Oh, Bernhard Langer can anchor, but I can't." I heard that complaint numerous times just in my own circles. Suddenly it seemed that two sets of rules were born, that somehow Charlie the 10 handicapper with a back problem can't be trusted in his matches with his buddies with that belly/long putter, but the guys on tv can.
It's an old, tired argument, and certainly not bringing it up except to point out that neither Tour has called a single player out for anchoring since the rule took effect. And not because it's not happened, but because it's basically an unenforceable judgement call.
So the Tour, imo, will have a lot to say about the process going forward. As they should. The USGA isn't in charge of the PGA Tour, and although Augusta National might be compelled to impose whatever local rules they wish - the remaining non-USGA events aren't bound to such scrutiny. In fact - the Tour probably has more sway than the USGA wants to admit. If the Tour rebels, the USGA risks losing even more clout than they have already lost as of late.
That aside, if the Tour really wanted to harness distance, they could without even doing anything with the ball. The billiard table fairways are a big reason why the overall distance gains have increased lopsidedly in the past 20 years. Let the grass grow. Just simply let the grass on the fairways and the rough grow out a bit more. Mother nature herself can help solve a big part of this problem.