A few years back, played a cse in western, Metro Phoenix that had rakes that made the tiniest furrows. Even in the fwy bunkers, a well-struck shot would fly well, but a one grove miss meant a heavy 100 yarder. There must be dozens of ideas that the Grounds crews play with along those lines, even with whisks, rope or funky teeth. Any ideas out there from Supers?
Soft sand is the bane of good players, yet allows all others some ease in moving sand for escapes. So, just deep tine the sand to keep it fluffy, and rake LESS to keep the softness.
As a low hdcp player, IF
I hit an off-line shot, I ask it to go into a bunker rather than rough. A bunker is the single greatest separator of the low hdcp and the average player. Even if a greenside bkr is deep, it presents less of a challenge (for me) than a pitch from rough. That is why the bkr centered in front of a green seems so unfair. If the avg player flies it, the approach will often carry thru the green, and those approaches that don't carry it leave the player the difficult sandy.
Better to position bunkers along flanks (especially with appropriately positioned fwy challenges) to allow running access, while still providing tucked pin positions when needed.
Lastly, if u want to make greenside bkrs more daunting to the advanced player, make the topside slope down towards the pin. This makes the short side recovery very difficult and channels water away from the bunker, thus reducing washouts.