Wayne:
I think you can make a good case for Lawsonia Links in this regard, and I point it out because the Langford/Moreau school is more often associated with what one might call an "engineered" look, compared to what might be described as the more naturalistic approach of a Flynn or Ross.
As Ran points out in his excellent profile, L/M chose to make Lawsonia's defenses focused on the greens and green surrounds, moreso than off the tee. That is, I've found that approach shots to greens at Lawsonia tend to be more exacting than tee shots, where L/M offered a fair amount of room on the fairways, obvious hazards to steer clear of, and lesser penalties for wayward or loosely played shots.
Still, I'd argue their use of fairway bunkering at Lawsonia comes into play, despite the improvements in technology (length) since the course was built in the 1930s. In a few cases, tees have been moved back, and one thinks it's to keep certain fairway bunkers in play. But other fairway bunkers still serve their purpose -- L/M seemed to have built their fairway bunkers not exclusively to catch wayward shots, but to serve as visual frames for the shot, and even to give one pause (and even sow a bit of confusion) before making the shot. L/M built their fairway bunkers at Lawsonia as long and narrow, with very high lips and clean edges, often set at an angle to the fairway. They are truly artful things.
Here's a brief rundown (and the link to the GCA visual) (for those following along, the course begins at the tee just left of the clubhouse in the middle of the aerial):
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=3820On 1, the right fairway bunker is arguably more in play today than when first built. That you can't see it from the tee makes it all the more interesting in terms of tee-shot strategy.
On 2, the gull-wing bunkers staring you in the face on the tee never really did serve as a penal element (it's more of a top-it bunker). But the tee shot is blind, and there is a certain thrill in carrying the bunkers to a wide and accomodating fairway.
On 6, the course has recently added a back tee to make the (blind) short right bunker (not seen on the aerial) come more into play, and keep the long and left (and also blind) set of bunkers in play as well.
On the short par 4 8, the fairway bunker still works as a wonderful use of visual trickery -- the hole looks like it plays straightway to the right of the bunker (but it's all rough and crud that way, blind to the golfer on the tee), so the proper tee shot appears to be a slight cut/fade over the fairway bunker right. That works, but the really smart play is well left of the bunker, to a hidden (and ample) part of the fairway that leaves a less-demanding approach to the green. The bunker really does set up the "look" of the hole, one of the really great short par 4s around.
On 9, the gull-wing bunkers are set into a rise in the fairway, and frame the approach shot. It's an easier carry, true, in today's game, and they work as more of a framing mechanism for the second shot on this par 5 for the good player. For hacks like me, I still have to worry about squeezing in my (uphill) second shot to avoid them. There is some room here for a new back tee position.
On 11, the fairway bunkers still are very much in play -- the first one, on the right, set into the side of a hill, and still a decent carry today, and then the two nicely set fairway bunkers that threaten an approach shot short left or long right.
On 13, the two short left bunkers are probably less demanding of a carry than they were 70 years ago, but the long and angled third left bunker is still in play for those wanting a shorter route to this long and demanding par 5.
On 15 and 16, both uphill-ish par 4s, the fairway bunkers still make (most) players pause a bit before deciding whether to tackle them, in part because what lies behind them remains (esp. on 16) somewhat blind.
On 17, the beautiful gull-wing fairway bunkers do frame the entire tee shot -- not a difficult carry for a good player, but they are so "in your face" on the tee shot, with huge lips, that they make the golfer think before simply taking them on. I do think there is a bit of room back of the tee here for lengthening.
On 18, a new tee has been added (I believe), presumably to keep the fairway bunker right on the tee shot and the two fairway bunkers that confront a 2nd shot on this par 5 in play.
Apologies for the length of this, but it's a very good question, and one thinks -- in studying this course -- that L/M may very well have been attentive to the future of the game, and the role that length would play, in their use of fairway bunkering. I do get the sense that at Lawsonia, L/M had a vision for fairway bunkering that was perhaps different than, say, the penal bunkering that Fownes utilized at Oakmont (to cite one example).