Poppycock and bullshit. The pair of bunkers on #1 are at least 25 yards in front of the putting surface. That odd bunker to the right of #4 is not original; I believe it was added in sometime in the 1950's to catch sliced balls going down the hillside, but I'll defer to Joel for a definitive answer. In any event, it is not a greenside bunker.
IMNSHO, the Green Committees (which change more often than underwear) have been disinclined to add or restore any fairway bunkers in part because of this idiotic myth of "one fairway bunker," which some of our members point to as a badge of honor.
i.e. (with chest puffed out) "The Lake Course has no water, O.B. and only one fairway bunker, yet is the toughest golf course this side of Winged Foot West blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda.
Nevermind the creek/slough to the left of #'s 13-15. I guess that does not count as water.
What the golf course needs now that the Open is finished (let us not forget we had the Junior Am, the U.S. Am and U.S. Open over the last eight years) is to ditch the arbitrary rough lines and widen the golf course so players can actually use the contours of the natural ground to direct their ball.
I understand the USGA philosophy and why they set up courses as they do; the trouble is that once the circus leaves town, it takes months to clean up all the elephant shit as the rough lines never seem to return to pre-USGA boundaries. My experience (since the 1981 U.S. Am) is that after a championship, for several years the Lake Course is left as a tiresome obstacle course as a convoluted, machismo driven expression of membership ego.
Those who used to suffer through my idle ranting in years past have read my hole-by-hole didactic sniveling, but the fact remains that unless the Superintendent pushes the rough lines up the high side of the reverse-camber fairways, the presentation of the golf course effectively negates the genius of the routing.
For instance, let us state arguendo, that there is effectively no rough on the Lake Course. In order to fully take advantage of the contours of the fairways (and keep the ball from running into the trees), the suggested ball flight from #1 goes: Fade, Draw, Fade, Draw, Fade, Draw, either, either, Fade, Fade, either, Draw, either, Draw, either, Draw, Fade, Fade.
There is plenty of room for discussion on whether I am right or wrong on individual holes, but a narrow ribbon of fairway with deep grass at the immediate perimeter turns the layout into an 18 hole fight with an angry raccoon that quickly grows tiresome.
The Lake Course used to include some clever fairway bunkers that, if restored, would add a tremendous amount of strategic interest and alleviate the need for so much rough to "protect" the golf course from low scores - as if that is somehow relevant to anybody not intent on a big dick contest with their neighbors.
End of rant.
P.S. I am actually in favor of leaving the new bunker on #17 and see how it goes. It gives everyone something extra to consider on the the 2nd shot aside from a brainless whack at the ball - usually against the breeze in the summertime.