I just read an interesting interview in the October/November issue of "The Golf Insider" newsletter with Mike Keiser and Jeff Wallach. It hints that Bandon #3 may be "patterned after Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath. Below is the article.
"Keiser just announced the selection of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw to design the eagerly awaited third course at Bandon. Unlike the others it will be inland, in the style of Melbourne. He explains what makes the sandbelt courses, especially those by Dr. Alister MacKenzie so Special."
"Keiser on the Sandbelt:
Most great golf courses are located on exquisite natural sites, usually consisting of sandy soil, on which the golf architect laid out an ingenious routing. National Golf Links, Cypress Point, Sand Hills, and Royal Dornoch are four superior examples of great, natural golf courses. Maybe one day the same will be said for Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes.
Then there are the man-made or maufactured golf splendors, those whose greatness is owed primarily to the genius of the golf architect. These are typically inland on mundane sites where it's virtually impossible to "find" natural holes. Instead, the architect must impose his will on the land to come up with a playing field that's exciting enough to energize all who play the game.
There are five exemplars of great manufactured golf courses: Augusta, St. Andrews, Pinehurst #2, Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath. The latter two are just two miles apart in Melbourne, Australia. They are two of the finest and most exciting golf experiences you'll ever enjoy. Royal Melbourne has just a little bit of interesting topography. Kingston Heath is almost totally flat. In other words there is almost nothing wondrous about the sites themselves. The best you can say is that they're sandy.
So why are they so good? I argue that the greens complexes are the most exciting you'll ever see or play on. I could walk through all 36-holes to make my case but I'll mention only one: the unbelievable par 3, 154 yard 15th at Kingston Heath. It plays uphill, usually a decided no-no for a short par 3. But its green is surrounded by the most innovative -- and most threatening -- bunkers I've ever seen. They're there to do one job: scare the living bejesus out of the player. They're as beautiful and foreboding as, say, the Grand Canyon. And they're completely manmade, designed by the inimitable Dr. Alistair MacKenzie. His Cypress Point 15th and 16th are two fabulous golf holes, but primarily because they're so naturally heart-stopping. Kingston Heath's 15th is Dr. MacKenzie's greatest hole, simply because he made it out of nothing.
One other distinctive aspect of both courses: fairways are mown right to the very edge of the bunkers. There is no bumper collar on the inside edges. Since the grass is cut low right to the edge, there's nothing to stop your ball. It will roll right in. The look is both more sculpted and more dangerous. Had I visited Melbourne before I built the courses at Bandon Dunes, I might have a course patterned after these already."