Do any golf experts here know if it is true that European courses tend to feature more deeply pitted steep-walled bunkers?

Just something I thought I noticed, but only really have a small sample size.

I bet my sample size is smaller than yours.

Heh.

Just playing it on 360. US sand hazards seem a little less like small craters and more like mini desert valleys.

The scotland course I played last night, and another one that was in britain both seemed to be different in that regard. It makes them much more of a pain in the ass.

Dad has played St. Andrews.  He said the traps had pretty steep sides, and the fairway was quite a bit rougher than what you'd see on a US course.  The rough was really rough.

Rough as this?

http://au.travel.yahoo.com/great-outdoors/australia/south-australia/flinders-ranges-and-outback/coober-pedy-golf-south-australia.html

I remember these oiled sand "greens" where the flag was actually a red-painted crossbar used to smooth the path between the ball and the hole (if you ever got there).

I think they vary, but courses like St. Andrews may not be typical. I have also read that competition courses have been made harder in response to top golfers getting better.

I made par on 3 holes yesterday!

Of couse, I paid for such fortune by my vehicle puking.

I almost broke 100... 106.

That's phenomenally good for me. But the course was very forgiving. Many balls I'd have normally never found on the course I play most regularly were easy to find because this one is just about all open field with no really high grass.