"Do those viewing these pictures prefer the front greenside bunker as it was, or as they are today ?
Has that bunker evolved for the better, or worse ?"
Pat,
The sandy face fronting 18, as with 2, may have looked good but it did not function. The sandy faces often washed away carrying some or a great deal of the greens with them. The turf and discreet bunkers were put in in order to stabilize the faces of the hills. Flynn was called in to do this work. Now that doesn't mean I like the final version better but I do like how it looks and it passes the test of time--it holds up. So I would have to say that they didn't really evolve, but were remodeled for the better.