"If the Tour decides to implement furrowing as part of a larger strategy to counteract technology..."

Ryan Ballangee writes about the bunker furrowing at Muirfield Village:

...the question is this - if the Tour decides to implement this strategy in the long haul, is this a good move by the Tour? The answer, like most things, is "it depends."

If you are a purist like I am, then the answer may very well be that it is good. Since there is no action on equipment restrictions, the Tour can add this into its arsenal of setup changes it can make in an effort to discourage bombing and increase the penalty for inaccuracy. The problem, though, is that many Tour stops do not have very significant bunkering. This means that furrowed raking would only be prominent at a percentage of Tour stops. In essence, it's a six shooter with two bullets.

If you are a Tour marketer, then this is a terrible idea. There are only four weeks of the year that fans look forward to the best players in the world being made to look like fools - the major championships. In particular, the number one week for that is the US Open. The rest of the year, the fans are looking for interesting setups that reward accuracy, are not too gimmicky, and attract good fields. If the Tour decides to implement furrowing as part of a larger strategy to counteract technology, then they may actually upset some of the top players in the process. This could prove to hurt the potential of the FedEx Cup (not that it has any right now) and fly in the face of its goals.

Oh but the irony is so sweet!