“I’m a competitor,” says Nick Faldo. It’s modesty in its purest form: he’s inarguably a winner.
Britain’s greatest golfer, Faldo took six Majors in the ‘80s and ‘90s, – that’s comfortably more than any non-American on the planet. In a sporting world that uses the accolade too frequently and inexcusably cheaply, he’s a true legend. Faldo turns 50 next year, but he’s not about to start taking life easy. On course, he’ll captain the 2008 European Ryder Cup team; off it, he’s steering the growth of his burgeoning company, Faldo Enterprises.
Faldo likes to do things his way. In the mid-1980s, despite topping the European Order of Merit and becoming the Ryder Cup’s youngest player, he took the controversial decision to radically remodel his swing. He believed he could be technically better. He was savaged in the press during a couple of barren transitional years, but Faldo’s foresight and patience reigned victorious over his critics as he returned to win the ‘87 Open Championship, top the world rankings and shatter the world annual earnings record.
Faldo maintains he always knew it was the right decision and is famous for being one of the sport’s great strategists. His strong opinions made him one of the foremost voices in golf and, on occasion, has incurred the wrath of his fellow professionals – not that he’s concerned. It’s unsurprising then that Faldo suffered several unsuccessful tenures with brand management companies before deciding to take matters into his own hands in 2003.
“I wanted the control to build my own relationships with companies,” he says. “With management agencies, it often feels like you’re a pawn and they’re simply using you to make themselves look good.”
Faldo Enterprises umbrellas his four prime areas of interest: golf course design; corporate events; The Faldo Trust, a registered charity set up in 1996 to help develop future professionals; and the development of the Faldo brand, through his various media work.
As his playing schedule becomes less intense, Faldo the golfer admits he’s on the way to becoming Faldo the entrepreneur. “I’m like a young Arthur Daley,” he jokes, before shifting tone. “We have clear strategies for expansion, and I’m very focussed on growing the business.”
A Brave new world
The sporting strategist and thinking man’s golfer, Faldo was never likely to fly into business gung-ho, as is the tendency of many who think their sporting success will automatically transcend to business. He does think the skills he harnessed as a sportsman transfer favourably to life in business, however.
“As a golfer you have good assessment skills, you are able to quickly assess situations and must be a strong decision maker,” he says. “It’s very much the same in business.”
A former carpet fitter, Faldo’s CV is hardly Harvard material though. There’s no shortage either of potential business partners happy to hitch a ride on the back of the Faldo name – sporting stars as illustrious as Pélé have been reduced to the point of financial ruin by poor or unscrupulous advice.
“I’ve met a lot of people who are looking to take advantage,” he acknowledges. “But now I’ve got a team of people committed to the Faldo cause – to the company, not just me.”
Faldo clearly values experience as well as loyalty. The two linchpins of his operation are both industry veterans. Iain Forsyth takes the role of MD and looks after the growing corporate events arm, as well as acting as Faldo’s manager. He spent 14 years at Nike and is an expert in branding. Nick Edmund heads Faldo Design and is a golf writer and barrister
Despite having just 13 employees, it’s very much a global business. The Faldo brand has an international profile, and the company’s courses are increasingly disparate. Faldo himself spends most of his time in the United States, but at times can be almost anywhere in the world – it’d be understandably easy for Faldo to take his eye off the ball.
“I’m the captain of the ship but it’s impossible for me to be constantly looking at every oncoming wave,” he admits. “That’s why I need good people around me to ensure that everything is organised and running smoothly.”
That said, Faldo speaks to Forsyth for an hour a day, seven days a week and attends board meetings every month. “I’m very much a bottom-line man,” he asserts. “I always know where we are.”