In my mind this was never going to end well.
The point about acknowledging the rules and regulations as it relates to equipment, however stupid I may personally find some of them, are there. If there is any uncertainty about the equipment spec regulations, then the onus is ultimately on the manufacturer to seek clarity before moving forward. This is precisely why companies like TaylorMade, PING, Callaway, Mizuno, Titleist and Cobra invest a significant amount of revenue with regard to research and development.
A reality show involving amateur golfers designing high-tech equipment, despite some means of oversight from the company associated with the show, by default was always going to push the boundaries as far as what they could and couldn't get away with. That was really part of the show plot, right? To hopefully design something that would push the performance envelope, while creating something completely different aesthetically, that would generate enough hype and potential controversy, to at least grab attention from potential would-be buyers, while at the same time generating enough tv ratings to get people to tune into a reality show.
The USGA, however arrogant, stubborn and outright asshatish as the organization truly is, was never going to completely ignore specific standards simply because of a one-off reality tv program. If they did, then all of these other equipment manufacturers who are much more invested in R&D would exploit that to no end, and rightfully so.
I'm not fond of the USGA, but they aren't that stupid. They were never going to consider relaxing their standards simply because of the Golf Channel's inability to provide quality programming on their network. This reality show concept was doomed from the very get-go.