In the news: American Golf interim boss Alan Fort profiled

That is because he has been associated with various situations where restructuring was necessary.

However, a source close to the situation insists that Fort was appointed for his retail skills rather than the need for any surgery.

That will be a departure for Fort, who had stints at Jessops, Dreams and Courts. In those cases restructuring was followed by administration.

“He rarely walks into stable companies. He walks into businesses that have challenges,” says one person who knows Fort well.

However, there is no indication that American Golf is in trouble. The retailer was included in Zolfo Cooper and Retail Week’s Growth Retailer of The Year report last year. It has also just opened a flagship store in Monument, London.

In its last reported financial year to January 2013, it made a £316,000 pre-tax loss but it did bear exceptional costs of £1.5m in relation to the restructure of Online Golf. It had made £2.8m the year before.

Fort - who replaced Kevin Styles, who departed American Golf last month to head cinema group Vue’s UK business - has gained experience from a broad base of firms from furniture to fashion.

Most recently he was executive chairman of outdoor retailer Gelert, until it was sold to Sports Direct out of administration. And he was vice-chairman of Neal’s Yard Remedies for three years until 2009, a role that is understood to have required traditional retail skills rather than any restructuring expertise.

But by and large Fort is a man who has based his career on the ability to make tough decisions. He is often appointed by the banks of struggling retailers to ensure their assets are protected. However, a source close to American Golf owner Sun European points out the private equity firm appointed him directly.

Sun European will have encountered Fort before from his stint at Dreams. He was brought in to the beds specialist by its banks to spearhead a turnaround ahead of Sun’s acquisition of the firm out of pre-pack administration.

Milton Guffogg, chief executive of restructuring firm GA Europe, has crossed paths with Fort many times. For example, Guffogg was chief executive of now defunct greetings card retailer Celebrations where Fort was his chairman.

Guffogg says he is impressed with how Fort handles himself in sometimes difficult situations. “He’s very hands on, an inclusive manager and very personable,” he says. “He gets to know a company and its staff before making a judgement. He gives strong direction and is good at working within a team.”

However, as one might expect given the nature of restructuring, opinion is divided on how Fort operates. Restructurers have sometimes been known as the ‘undertakers of retail’, and one retailer who has personal experience of Fort at work says: “He’s the one that has to kill them in the first place. What does that make him? The anaesthetist of retail?”

The retailer refers to Fort as a “break-up” person. “His skills lie in financial engineering rather than planning for the future. His timeframe is 30 to 60 days. You can’t build a business in that time,” says the retailer.

However, Guffogg insists that Fort gains buy-in for what he’s trying to achieve.

It is unlikely Fort will be a permanent fixture at American Golf, which is understood to be searching for a new permanent chief executive following Styles’ exit, which was followed by the departure of its chief financial officer.

Guffogg says: “He’s a great short-term solution. When things are back on track he moves on.”

Although he has often had to perform radical surgery, Guffogg says that Fort loves retail. “He enjoys talking to people including customers,” he says.

Fort is a family man and is understood to live with his wife and two daughters in Bromley, south London. He is also said to be an excellent golfer.

So it seems to be the swing of his golf club rather than his restructuring expertise that is behind his appointment.