SPDB:
You put forward a good question. Let me respond this way.
I actually believe Bandon is the more demanding course because of its length. Is it better than Pacific Dunes? Well, it all depends who you ask. I like them both because they present such a different element of golf in the manner in which the courses are layed out.
The same question has been raised by a few players I know who have played WF many times. Yes, they will say WF / West is more demanding / tougher, but they prefer WF / East because it presents playable features that the West does not.
I said this before -- reduce the two par-5's on Bandon's back nine (this follows the same script WF / West uses for the 9th and 16th holes) and you will have one strong par-70 that is easily beyond 7,000 plus yards. Couple that with the unpredictable weather and wind pattern of the Oregon coact and add just a tad more rough and you have a helluva test. When you do this to Bandon you have an "apples v. apples" comparison between the two courses. I will concede that WF / West has the more complex putting surfaces and the bunkering of the targets is well done, however, Bandon requires control of your game in sometimes the most sternest of conditions.
Pac Dunes is not as long as Bandon so I matched it up against WF / East because of comparable yardages. Pac and WF East, I believe are no more than 6,600 yards.
Again, I can see how people would opt for WF as the finest 36 / hole layout in the USA, but I would hope that people would not scoff at Bandon and Pac Dunes because of its young age and say how can such a comparison be made? To use a football analogy my father was a great fan of Johnny Unitas and said there was no better quarterback. I always argued that Joe Montana is at least his equal and maybe even better. Who is right? Clearly, you can't go wrong with either choice.
If you flipped the comparison the other way I would say WF / West has an edge over Pac Dunes, but that margin is not as great as the one Bandon would have over WF / East. I actually think when you pit Bandon v WF / West and Pac Dunes v WF / East the margins become even closer.
I have the highest respect for the 36 holes at WF. I've said before you can easily make a case that when pepared properly WF / West may be America's most demanding championship test to score on. The demands are relentless and unless you're game is A+ you will be rigorously tested. But Bandon is not just a walk in the park. When you get 20-30 mph winds hitting your face throughout the day you'd better have mega patience and fortitude to weather the storm.
I guess, in the final analysis, it's a photo finish but I said previously I'd personally opt for Bandon / Pac Dunes but if a game is available at WF I'm always ready to go.