Patrick;
Do you think my comments about the bunkers are "biased"?
Before you answer, think about why I could call a course like World Woods Pine Barrens "excellent" and Osprey Ridge "underrated". Do you have any comments in answer to my specific bunker criticisms? I think they are fair, unbiased, and valid points I raised, but feel free to disagree.
Tim;
I see a couple of problems, and the term "sizing" might need to be reconsidered. You refer to the "vistas", but in looking at them again, I think it might be due to the width.
As it is, the fairways are very wide, which is something I earlier applauded. Yet, even with fairways of this width, the bunker placement is generally to the edges of the fairways. They simply get "lost", and don't seem to get in your head as a serious threat or something to seriously consider. Instead, they look like the "frame" only.
I think something that perhaps starts at the edge of the fairway, but then diagonally extends further into the fairway (ironically, like Patrick's overhead of the 5th at Newport) would have worked better and probably would have effectively dealt with the "sizing" issue, as well.
Beyond that, they appear to be shallow and non-threatening...the fairway bunkers in particular look to be almost an afterthought, with no real consideration of how they might drive or affect play.
The greenside bunkers look to be placed well away from the greens themselves in many cases. You have large, sprawling bunkers that seem to be once again designed for visual appeal, and smaller blobs that seem to only provide visual balance and further framing. Neither seem "sized" appropriately for the size target they are defending, nor particularly daunting. Perhaps if they more closely defended the targets, or had a more threatening appearance (i.e. deeper), some of this benign look might have been negated.
As it is, they neither excite the eye nor speed the pulse.