In Volume 2 of The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses, Tom Doak published that.

“The grande dame of Hawaiian resorts, Mauna Kea came to life when Robert Trent Jones convinced Lawrence Rockefeller he could crush lava to make topsoil for its fairways. The course features several of the best golf holes in Hawaii – I personally prefer the downhill par-3 11^th to the iconic 3^rd across the bay, but the par-4 14^th and par-5 17^th are also exceptional. However, to get to these, there are some God-awful long holes playing straight up steep hills, to elevated greens that repel the average golfer, so that everyone takes a golf cart. In toto, I found the golf a bit overrated, but I would gladly fly all that way again just to see the manta rays come up to the hotel’s overlook each evening.“

Mauna Kea Golf Club received a score of 6 out of 10 from Tom Doak and a score of 6 out of 10 from one of his co-authors.