Nick Faldo wears so many hats these days that, even though the golf clubs only rarely get an airing on tour, his schedule is more packed than ever.

Yesterday, the hat Faldo was wearing was of course designer at Lough Erne resort, outside Enniskillen, where the six-time major winner gracefully crafted shots through the wind on the couple of holes that provide a hint of what is to come there.

Today, it will be as captain of the Britain and Ireland team that defends the Seve Trophy against continental Europe at The Heritage, outside Portlaoise. The team duel that starts on Thursday with, sadly, no Irish representative on the home team.

Faldo's other hats include that of captain of the Europe team for the Ryder Cup at Valhalla next year, as well as heading the Faldo Series - designed to unearth and develop young talent in Britain and Ireland - and, of course, that of a television commentator with US network CBS.

"TV is the main date," he said, adding: "Next year is kind of maxed out with Faldo Design, the Faldo Series . . . and the Ryder Cup captaincy will add to it."

The golf course at Lough Erne - which has signed up Rory McIlroy as its touring professional - is one of 19 that Faldo is currently involved with, as the design business has him plane-hopping to such places as China and Cambodia.

But he is particularly enthusiastic about the Fermanagh setting, which is akin to that of Loch Lomond in Scotland with a number of holes, such as the 18th, demanding shots over the lake's shore.

"When we first looked at the potential of the land here, we knew we'd a fabulous site," said Faldo, who was making his third site visit, which won't open for play until 2009.

"We want to create 18 good, very good, great golf holes . . . and, potentially, it will be strong enough to play host to any event in Ireland. I certainly hope that an Irish Open is conceivable. It's got the space, the hotel on site.

"Our brief is to make the course strong enough to host any event. We've been given the brief to go as far as we can go."

Faldo is especially pleased of Lough Erne's link with McIlroy, one of those players - following Nick Dougherty and Oliver Wilson - to have benefited from the Faldo Series.

"That was one of my goals (to see players come through the system). The Faldo Series is 10 years old now and, back then, that's what we talked about. Where is the next Nick Faldo coming from? That was one of the reasons I started the series and I'm proud of the fact they're starting to come."

Of McIlroy, Faldo stated: "He's confident now, which is great. He has got that confident, self-belief swagger and I think that's going to be very important.

"You have got to have serious belief in yourself out on tour. (But) you've got to give him a couple of years to see what he can do. He proved it at the British Open that he has got all parts of his game going.

"I don't know what the real X-factor is. I know what I looked like (at 18). I know what Seve looked like. It is a tough call to know what is really inside someone. You've got examples that work both ways. I mean, Gary Player was told to go home because his game was no good. Look what happened to Gary. It is what is inside that makes the man."

However, Faldo, always known for thinking outside the box, didn't even have a fleeting moment where he considered giving McIlroy one of his two wild cards (they went to Scotland's Marc Warren and England's Simon Dyson) for this week's Seve Trophy.

"That would have been very wild, a bit too wild . . . a long way out of the box," he said.

Nevertheless, the Seve Trophy, from an Irish perspective at least, has had some of the gloss taken off it before a ball has been hit in anger by the absence of any Irish player in the B&I team.

Paul McGinley and Graeme McDowell were both overlooked for wild cards.

Still, Warren, one of five newcomers to the event on the B&I team, aims to use it as a springboard to bigger things.

"Making the Seve Trophy team was one of my goals for the year, so I'm delighted to be in it. Getting the wildcard pick wasn't exactly the way I wanted to make it, but I've obviously been doing something right this season for Nick to pick me.

"To be in that position when I've not been performing at my best, for three, four months this season, is very encouraging. I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be exciting, and a chance to get to know Nick better.

"It'll be interesting to see how he does as captain, but he was a great player and great champion, and with all his experience, I don't think he'll leave any stone unturned."