Walking into a hotel room for the first time is usually straightforward. You get your key, find your room, and settle in. However, for PGA Tour winner Michael Kim, checking into Trump National Doral Miami ahead of the Cadillac Championship left him surprised.

At Trump Doral, the clubhouse sits at the center of the property, with multiple villas surrounding it. Guests, in this case PGA Tour pros, can stay in those villas, which are effectively hotel-type buildings within walking distance of the clubhouse. Sounds simple, but their names are anything but ordinary.

“First time at Doral, they hand me my room key with this. I was so confused. Buildings are named after golfers. Tiger, Nicklaus, Snead, Player, Hogan, Palmer, Jones, and Phil,” Kim wrote on X, accompanied by a laughing emoji and picture of his key card, which had Phil Mickelson written over it. Confused? Let me explain.

When the Trump Organization purchased the Doral property in 2012 and invested $250 million in its restoration, one special touch was the naming of the resort’s eight guestroom villas after golf legends. They picked specifically those who either played the famous Blue Monster course or are widely admired in the sport. Each villa is decorated with black and white photos of the golfer in their playing days, photos of museum quality.

The full lineup reads like a Mount Rushmore of golf, several times over: Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Sam Snead, and Tiger Woods.  Among these, the Jack Nicklaus villa is the largest with 172 guest rooms and suites. It was designed by Ivanka Trump, and Golden Bear himself was present during the ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2015.

Michael Kim, the winner of the 2018 John Deere Classic, was unaware of this, probably because the Tour is visiting the Blue Monster after ten years. The last time Trump National hosted a PGA Tour event was in 2016, when Adam Scott won the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Kim was still a struggling pro two years away from his first PGA Tour silverware. So his awe is understandable, but this kind of tribute is not unique to Doral.

Golf has a long tradition of honoring its legends through physical spaces. Carnoustie’s 6th hole is nicknamed Hogan’s Alley after Ben Hogan’s precise play during the 1953 Open Championship. St Andrews has a hole named after Old Tom Morris. Royal Birkdale has the Critchley Room. Doral’s villa system fits into that broader tradition, just with a luxury hotel twist.

For Michael Kim, a Doral first-timer, none of that context was immediately obvious. But now that he knows, at least the room key makes more sense. But Kim might be surprised to know the history behind the course.

Trump’s Doral course is built on swampland

Alfred Kaskel spent $10 million in 1962 turning 2,400 acres of South Florida swampland into Doral Country Club. Architect Dick Wilson designed the Blue Monster, and within two years, the PGA Tour was already hosting events there. And the names on those villa keys did not end up there by accident.

Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo, and Ben Crenshaw have all won at Doral. Woods alone claimed four titles here, with nine top-10 finishes in 11 starts, once saying the course simply “fit his eye.” The resort’s current identity traces back to a bankruptcy sale and a $250 million bet.

The Trump Organization purchased Doral out of bankruptcy in 2012 for $150 million, then spent $250 million renovating all four courses and the hotel. Architect Gil Hanse called the Blue Monster redesign “a new golf course,” rebuilding every green and reworking 12 holes entirely.

Michael Kim picked quite the moment to visit for the first time. The 2026 Cadillac Championship marks the 56th PGA Tour event at Doral and its first Signature Event status. Seventeen of the world’s top 25 players are competing, headlined by Scottie Scheffler, making Michael Kim’s first visit to this historic venue well-timed.