I think something important needs to be said about the famous evolutionary bunkers of Merion (the so-called white faces of Merion) that has been heatedly discussed for about a year or more now with Merion's current bunker project going on.
Merion's bunkers before this current bunker project were extremely evolutionary and were extremely natural looking. That natural look occured because basically the bunkers just evolved with "natural play sand build up" (some more than others) and the fact that the club never comprehensively remodeled them. As time went on and something needed fixing that specific something got fixed by hand and the rest was just left to evolve. Nothing was ever really done to super manicure them and they just sort of aged over many decades through the application of normal maintenance practices, play and just normal maturation.
"The White Faces of Merion" was always their label probably due more to the dedicatedly specific and visual placement and design of them by Hugh Wilson and William Flynn (and probably to an interesting degree by the later maintenance of them by the Valentines and maybe much later by Kittleman too). The bunkers of Merion became world famous probably as much for their name and natural beauty as anything else!
The "White Faces of Merion" were one of the golf course's defenses (like any golf course) but their strategic impact might have been as much their name and reputation and the psychology of that as anything else.
What all of you should understand is that despite the fact the Nicklaus may have missed a relatively simple bunker shot in one of them once they never were unusually penal. This is misleading however, because there were some that were oddly inconsistent and remarkably penal for many years. This was probably nothing more than the type of quirky benign neglect that most of us would truly love.
Those that played Merion and knew it well knew where those danger areas of Merion's bunkers were. Some had complex areas to play from and others for some reason were round-wrecking jungles--ie, bunkers to the right of #10 fairway that was a vegetative jungle for many years, bunker to the left of #11 fairway that had significant tree growth within, the bunker to the right of #14 with another jungle depicted by the famous shot of David Graham with body and club flying skyward!). Then there was the scotch broom that was sprinkled through many of them for many years that made decision making if the ball was caught therein a severe dilemma. There were even bunkers within the quarries that were so penal you were likely to lose your ball.
Other than those bunkers mentioned none of the bunkers at Merion were any more penal than most other really good golf courses with strategic and well designed bunkers. Other than those bunkers mentioned the remainder were far far less penal than almost every single bunker at Pine Valley.
You may not want to hear that my fellow contributors but it's the truth. I know it because I have been playing Merion and its bunkers reacreationally and in tournaments for many years--and PRIOR to the Merion bunker restoration project.
The look of the Merion bunkers and how they may have changed with the bunker restoration project is another matter. Some may forever regret that changed look if the club chooses to never return to their original look or is unable to. But the strategic aspect of the Merion bunkers although some characteristics may have changed may actually net out to make them play a little harder and more strategic in the future.
Merion is apparently not only undergoing a bunker project, they are undergoing a project to return the golf course to what it looked like and hopefully played like in 1930 (the year of Jone's Grand Slam). This overall project involves comprehensive tree removal (a problem Merion never really suffered from), expanded fairways and firmer and faster playing conditions. There is a lot of good in this general direction and overall project and anyone who really knows Merion knows that the real strategic deal of Merion is their greens and how to approach them and recover from around them, coupled with the tee to green topography, the angles and the clever and unusual use of boundaries and OB boundaries. If Merion expands their fairways to what they once were they are flying in the face of those that accuse them of making the course easier simply because the once resistricting rough will not be there to take a shot and an option away. Merion seems comfortable enough with this to just let the player play his shot from challenging angles and if he can pull off a great recovery, so be it!!
I say all of this because I'm convinced that Merion is going in a great general direction with their golf course. The bunker project has been controversial and it may always be but its important to keep in mind that those that are running this project care very much about Merion and they truly want to do the right thing by their great old course. It must also be admitted that they did reach out for research and assistance whereever they thought best and in some cases were shot down. That particular fact still personally rankles me but I try not to dwell on the "only if".
The Green Chairman, Bill Greenwood, who I believe has never been mentioned by name by me has been at this for a long time and he genuinely cares about Merion. He has also been very accommodating to those that have criticized Merion, him and his committee. He has been willing to listen and consider from almost anyone and from anywhere but when one runs a green Committee at a club like Merion you definitely have to consider your membership very carefully. Anyone out there in Golfclubatlas land who doesn't understand this simple fact really doesn't deserve to offer legitimate criticism about anything that goes on at Merion architecturally or otherwise.
So come on, anyone who really wants to know the facts at Merion and wants to offer constructive criticism or suggestions, advice or resource, just do it civily and sensibly--you probalbly will be listened to directly or indirectly.
Maybe you think they've made some mistakes, and maybe they have, who hasn't, like with the bunker project, but few realize how immensely complicated the Merion bunkers really are. But good things are coming and probably a lot of them.
My take is if they do what they're planning to do Merion can be ready for another US Open, despite what some myopics say about the length of the golf course. Merion, the golf course will be ready soon with its original defenses to challenge the best in the world and Merion the golf club has done its part! The next step is up to the USGA.