Chris Frame, Director of Marketing, at Holderness & Bourne

Alex Elias

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As Holderness & Bourne has quickly emerged, Chris Frame, Director of Marketing at Holderness & Bourne, said “We’re not this corporate conglomerate. We are a small shop, where the owners are still heavily involved and very passionate about the day-to-day.”

“The roots of the Holderness & Bourne started in the Met Area with four clubs: Somerset [Hills Country Club], Winged Foot [Golf Club], Wykagyl [Country Club] and Greenwich [Country] and is still owned by the original founders, Alex Holderness and John Bourne. It’s actually real people behind the brand. Alex and John design our entire product line. Their shared passion for menswear and well-made apparel is what sparked the brand back in 2014. They have always put a focus on designing quality product  and introducing fresh colorways each season. A strategy that has seen success. Before launching a product they always ask themselves if they would wear it, and if the answer is yes, then it's added to the line,” said Frame. “In a world full of diluted, saturated golf apparel brands, to have them both involved in the brand is, in my opinion, our biggest strength.”
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As Holderness & Bourne has a distinct fit, Frame said, “We've brought a tailored fit similar to some of the best shirting houses on Jermyn Street in London to green grass American golf apparel. Our fit has really helped us scale as a brand and receive high marks from our online customers and over 900 Green Grass wholesale accounts.”

“Along with the fit, the implementation of the sewn in collar stays are unique to us. We’re the only ones producing this structured English spread collared design. It just kind of forms your face a little better and gives you this confident feel,” said Frame. 

As Green Grass is the overarching business, Frame said, “That’s the business. We’re an apparel brand selling their logo. The better logo and the more weight it pulls, the more our product is noticed.” 

​With the recent news that Holderness & Bourne will begin releasing shorts, Frame said, “It was a little bit of both listening to customers and understanding it was time. Alex and John really got into the details and it’s not uncommon to receive twenty rounds of samples. It took them forty rounds of samples to nail the collar, so yes, it was time for a category expansion into bottoms, but we also realized that we needed that based on customer feedback.”

“We could have released it two years ago with a more inferior product, but we decided to wait and really dial in on the fit and fabric. It’s a performance-cotton blend with a country club-esque type of cotton feel,” said Frame.