Tommy Williamsen,
If a bunker doesn't present an impediment to advancing the ball and reaching the green, it's failed in its function.
As to being formulaic, I find nothing wrong with that.
Is it formulaic to have bunkers around greens, elevated tees ?
All too often the "F" word is used to condemn, in blanket fashion, common sense feature patterns, or the consistent configuration of features in relation to one another.
I believe bunker depth is and will become a more critical design element, drainage permitting.
New hybrid clubs allow for simple extracation from most fairway bunkers.
Where is it written that golfers are entitled to an unimpeded or easy extracation from a fairway or greenside bunker ?
That's the weak argument for "fairness"
A golfer's inability to extracate himself from a bunker is directly proportional to the strategic significance of the bunker.
Make the extracation a routine shot and the bunker becomes a vestigal feature.
Where bunkers can't be deepened, fronting berms (elevated banks) should be considered as an additive.
In addition to depth, the static location of bunkers should be reviewed with an eye toward returning them to play, as intended by the architect. OR, leaving them in their current position and adding additional, similar bunkers in the current DZ.