During the time of the “Golden Age of Golf Architecture” (a period from about 1910 to 1935), a sand bunker on a golf course was seen as a hazard and was not maintained as a “playing surface” or surface where the player was expected to have a clean lie to play a shot from. Over time, the perception of what a sand bunker is has changed,not evolved, to the point these areas are now seen by many players as places where they expect a clean lie on a consistent playing surface. Today, if a player sees a shot missing their target, finding the bunker can be seen as a much better fate than rough grass – the exact opposite of what a player would find during the days of early American golf.
The approach taken with the sand bunkers at Old American is part of creating the experience of playing the game as it was intended to be played. The objective, strategically, is to avoid the bunkers. If you find a bunker, expect the unexpected, read the lie you have relative to the shot you have to play, and in the case of having a lie that won’t allow you to play at the flag, take your medicine and look to strategically make that shot up at some point on the hole or in the round.