The United States Golf Association has no intention of ripping it out of your hands. But until the USGA Technical Department developed the test protocol, there was no way to determine whether a given clubhead conformed to the Rules of Golf. In essence, the USGA has drawn a line in the sand.
Current technology is OK, but there is a ceiling in place for the future.
We do not believe that the spring-like effect in clubs that are presently in use have lessened the skill required to play the game at championships such as the U.S. Open, or at the recreational level. The USGA is concerned about space-age alloys other than titanium that could be used in clubheads to launch the ball even farther, rendering golf courses obsolete and fundamentally changing the way the game is played. We're concerned about the future. The announcement wasn't quite the bombshell that many feared. Executives from several major equipment manufacturers attended the long-awaited news conference, as did representatives of the PGA of America and the PGA Tour.