Niall Horan: Cynics fuelled me to succeed with Modest Golf

Niall Horan has opened up on the cynicism he faced when he launched his golf management company in 2016, detailing how it fuelled him to make it a success.

Speaking in the December edition of bunkered, the chart-topping musician reflected on the launch of Modest Golf Management in 2016.

The boutique firm was dismissed by many naysayers as a non-credible ‘plaything’ for the former One Direction star.

However, seven years on, it has built an enviable stable of clients – amongst them Tyrrell Hatton and Leona Maguire – and has expanded its reach with the opening of a new office in the US, whilst also diversifying its business interests.

It’s all a far cry from the early days, when the skeptics were out in force.

“To be honest, I kind of expected the cynicism,” explained Horan. “There are agents on the range who have been there for a long time. They know the tour inside out and they’ve had their pick of the players for a long time. When they saw me turn up and try to get involved, they were bound to be a bit like, ‘Who’s he?’

“We heard bits and pieces here and there but that just gave us more drive – a healthy drive – to prove them wrong. Not in a ‘we’ll show them’ kind of a way. More, ‘we really want to do this’.”

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He added: “Six or seven years ago, golf looked the same as it had for many years. The governing bodies had been run by the same people for a very long time and so on.

“I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t easy to begin with. It was hard getting turned away from things pretty much constantly, but I always knew that if we stuck to it and worked hard then we’d get there in the end. Now, we’ve got a great relationship with all the governing bodies and all the agents, too.

“Slowly but surely, it’s turned around and people have started to realise, ‘Oh, wait a minute, maybe they are in it for the long haul.’”

Mark McDonnell, who co-founded Modest Golf with Horan, added: “To this day, I still get people saying to me, ‘Is Niall really involved?’. I mean, of course he is! Obviously, he can’t be at every single event and in every single meeting but, throughout all the major decisions and moments in our company’s history, he’s been there.”

“This has never, ever been a pet project for him or a little plaything to occupy his time whilst he figured out what he wanted to do next. And to be honest, I felt like it did me a disservice when I heard people say that.

“I know there are celebrities out there who’ll put their name to something just to make a quick buck and I would never stake my own career on that. I knew Niall’s passion for golf was genuine, and that’s why it was really easy for me to want to get involved.”

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Horan also expressed his hope that his involvement with golf will help encourage more young girls to take an interest in the sport.

“I always say this but, you know, I’ve got 40 million Twitter followers and a few more on Instagram,” he adds. “If me posting about golf here and there makes just one per cent of my followers take an interest in golf, well, look, I’m no mathematician, but it’s a lot!

“Don’t get me wrong, I know a lot of them will be like, ‘oh great, he’s talking about golf again!’ But I guarantee there’s quite a few who’ll read that tweet and go to the driving range, or go to Topgolf, or even just try to get involved in some shape or form. It’s just about letting them know the sport exists really.

“You never know how many will go, ‘Well, if Niall thinks it’s cool, it might be cool.’”

• Read the full interview with Niall Horan in the December edition of bunkered, on-sale now from all good newsagents. Alternatively, why not subscribe? Click here for details. International subscriptions also available.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor