Reading a couple of other threads on bunkers convinces me even more that the modern bunker is a "cop-out".
Does anyone think that a well manicured bunker where the ball rolls away from the edges and into a well raked lie is a hazard that intimidates a good player. Doesn't this type of "hazard" actually keep a ball from rolling further away in many situations. IMHO if a bunker with many variables, whether it be lie, grasses, slope, hairy etc, is much more intimidating and will make a good player think much more about missing into the same location than if it is a well maintained modern bunker. Of course I guess we could say the same thing about taking grain out of greens also 
, variables continue to be removed. 
It sounds like Australian bunker maintenance to me. It's a pretty clever method of reducing maintenance if you can locate local sand that compacts on the face of the bunker. Of course, to accomplish this, you have to leave the banks alone. In places where wages are high, it's a wise move.
The architect can always add variables to make bunker shots less predicatble. Whether the club keeps these elements is another story.