Not having played either course, are the holes away from the ocean as good at Pebble as at Bandon? The land certainly doesn't look as compelling.
If anything, that is where Pebble falls short a little - the inland holes are not as impressive for me - 1 is nothing special, I like 2 & 3 despite not being on the water, 4-10 are on the water with some classic holes, but 11 - 13 are nothing special, 14 is a brute par 5 - one of the hardest holes you can ever play, 15 is nothing special, I like 16, and then you are back to the ocean for 17 and 18.
If you took the water out of Pebble, would we say glowing things about it? I don't know. Maybe we should start a thread asking that question.
Don't get me wrong, I am not going to turn down a chance to play Pebble, and I love the course when I do have the opportunity, but the courses at Bandon are different - in a good way. More than anything, I believe they make you think more from the tee. Bandon only plays 6100 yards from the tees I typically play, which is short for me, so distance doesn't factor into this. The courses at Bandon move and flow across the land different than Pebble, and the water at Bandon is just "that big blue thing over to the west." Pebble integrates the water/cliffs into the holes more - ie 8 - but without the water, the holes lack character IMHO. At Bandon, you take away the water and the course would be almost as great.
Having said that, Bandon Trails gets one-half the play that BD, PD and Old Mac get. So maybe I am totally wrong.