Old school bunker play

Question
I was watching the Natalie Gulbis show on Golf Channel On Demand and Lee Trevino was giving her a tip on playing the ball back in the stance and opening up the feet.  And then I remember a friend of mine telling me the same thing about 22 years ago (my sand play was the pits back then).  And then recently I was watching Jack Nicklaus and he played the ball back in his stance and holed out a couple.

The guys at the Golf Channel always tell one to play it forward or in the center and open the clubface more for close shots and square for long shots.  

The question I have is if playing off the back foot is an old-school bunker technique, given that the old sand wedges had little bounce and a huge flange?

Slowly but surely becoming a short game whiz.  

Answer
Lou:

Good for you Lou.  Yes, I would say that is old school.  Again, if you practice enough, anything can work.  Today, we all teach the ball should be forward of center to help elevate the ball from the sand.  An open clubface and an open stance usually offset each other, the ball usually comes out in the direction the sand is displaced.  By having the ball more forward, it's easier to slip the clubhead under the ball, giving it more loft.  I would experiment and see what works best for you.  A combo of open face, ball position and open stance should produce a lot of shots.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member