Sean,
I'm not sure I understand your argument about the bunker scheme on 13. The two bunkers at the corner guard the best angle into the green--it's that simple. The three bunkers across the middle are strange, and they probably don't need to be there. However, it is a solid par four nonetheless.
Sandwich's 14th is the better of the two holes, no question. While I do like Deal's 14th, Sandwich's 14th is a classic and, as Sean says, it uses the boundary line very well.
SANDWICH 1 UP
HOLE NUMBER 15:
Sandwich: Laid out over the flattest terrain on the course, many dismiss this hole as uninteresting. Yes, the drive is pretty straightforward. However, the second shot plays to a brilliant and maddening greensite, with the front left of the green raised and right side of the green banked up and falling off into a swale. The green is also guarded by three cross bunkers in the original Sandwich style. With a bucket of balls from 190, a player might do well to get 5-10 on the green. Bernard Darwin and Tom Simpson were big fans of this hole.
Deal: Here, the course plunges into the best three-hole stretch on either golf course. The drive plays in similar fashion to the 13th, but the second shot is very exciting--usually a long iron or fairway wood to green that is partially hidden beyond a dramatic, rippling fairway. Like Sandwich's 15th, this may be the toughest green on the course to hit in regulation, running away from the player into a valley beyond. Great contours, good decisions present off the tee, and an excellent greensite. What's not to love?