Redanman (Bill)
you commented ... Rough-surrounded bunkers, even with a fairway surrounding them!
I was surprised at how these have become popular. However, from speaking with Course Superintendents (who have to do the bidding of the Course Committee) and Course Committee members, two things can increase the use of this style.
1. A desire for aesthetics. If a bunker is on the edge of fairway, greenstaff can find it difficult to get a mowing pattern that combines the fairway mower and the rough mower that looks 'smart' all of the way around the bunker. Wedges of fairway/rough might otherwise occur if the bunker isn't encircled in rough, and you can't have those, can you.
So, suddenly through trying to do the 'right thing', bunkers are encircled by rough. It also 'helps' that this is the image seen on TV golf.
2. A concern for the 'foozler'. At our club, we removed the encircling rough about 12 months ago. One of the outcomes was that certain bunkers did indeed gather more balls, particularly the uncontrolled 'foozle'. The main problems have occurred where the terrain and bunker layout is such that the limited carry golfer has very few options of getting on the green (eg a penal bunkering design around a green, with a downhill run towards that green.
So far, we have survived these two issues over the last two years, and most of our bunkers are surrounded by fairway (some on the edge of fairway have rough on one side, and an element of that 'unsightly' wedge of fairway/rough.
James