Mike if we speak of MacDonald-Raynor-Banks going to the same general playing characteristics of template holes, we should consider that golf was almost new in terms of spreading across our USA. Sure, the game was around long before on the old sod. But, that is the whole issue of templates, isn't it. MacDonald went to make a study of those holes with attributes that seemed to stimulate and work. So, he and his followers began the template formula. But, let's face it, the general strategic concepts of where the slopes are, where the bunkers or hazards are placed, and how the hole corridor unfolds on the templates are basically the foundational principles of golf hole design. A few other archies came along with a few new arrangement of placement of hazards and use of slopes and mounds, etc. But for the most part, all the variations are out there. How can we have some other archie of the modern era come up with a variation that isn't already out there, and then start replicating it over and over.
As David says, guys like Dye have some go-to formula or arrangement of design/construction that they replicate in slightly varied forms according to the land they are working on. But, I've seen Dye interviews where he reflects back on Raynor and those templates and then when we see Dye courses repeating a theme, isn't it really repeating themes that have been tried and true over many decades?
I know an archie (who shall remain unnamed) who has built the same par 5 on numerous projects. I once teased him that he has a block drawing on a CAD program and he pushes a button and there pops up his go-to par 7 same old thing. It doesn't matter which project, just that he has some relatively flat terrain to route the repetitive design hole, bunker here, dig pond there, place green thus and surround it with a few mounds.
In my view, even at a naturally routed course like Dismal River or Sand Hills, etc, if we dissect the hole concepts and corridors, they are all variations on themes previously presented somewhere. It seems to me that if an archie were to come up with an original design and playing concept in this era, it would probably have to be so extreme and out of the box deviation from what has gone before, that it would likely be ridiculed if place once, let alone repeated as a template.
Mac-Raynor-Banks already get some negative comments for following the formula and even the repetoire of that includes a Biarritz isn't universally loved. Like Sheehy says, if I have to play another modern Redan, I'm going to puke.