Tom,
Every time you complain about them I think, "Not every course is built on pure sand."
95% of what I work on is a clay base full of rocks. Predominantly shale.
We have a strong freeze / thaw cycle that pushes them to the surface.
Having nothing means they rebuild in 5-10 years.
Most club can't afford that cycle.
I rarely use the really expensive liner options.
Native clay and sod work for limited budgets.
But clean clay is becoming harder to find an expensive to install.
Sod only lasts so long and then the liner stops working ...
Yes, but the topic here is a club that will be tearing out very expensive capillary concrete after about ten years to redo the bunkers because of "style", or something.
These expensive liners are sold on the premise that they will last for generations, but most of the clubs that can afford them don't have the patience to leave a bunker alone for generations. They will decide to make them deeper, or build them closer to the fairway, or whatever.
Also, I have never dug into the ground at The Olympic Club, but SFGC is built on sand, and Olympic is much closer to the ocean, so I'm guessing it's sand, too. So, to put you on the spot -- would you use an expensive liner [or ANY liner] for sand on sand?