Sand: There seems to be a major difference between courses. 30/40 sand in the fairway bunkers at Oakmont about the best you can do is advance the ball with a wedge and hope to get up and down for a par. But 30/40 sand at St. Andrews can be very playable if you're not blocked by the lip. For example, if you're in that big bunker on 7, just add 20 yards to your wedge shot and you should be near the hole on your approach. The hard sand at Kiawah seems to respond differently from other sand.
Rough: With 15/20 rough on most courses it has little effect until you get into the long irons. 30/40 rough and your long irons lose lots or all of their effectiveness (especially at Oakmont), not to mention 40/50. You definitely need to punch from the heavier rough (30/40 +). Distance is also dramatically reduced on mis-hits compared to shots from the fairway. Trouble woods can be excellent from fairway rough. Punching with the R11 hybrid has advanced me as far as 150+ yards out of 60/70 rough at Bethpage. Incredible. Around the greenside rough, especially, remember the rule to always hit at least 70% strength out of rough.