Inside the Making of the Coolest Golf Collab of the Year (So Far)

Did Students and Sugarloaf Social Club just crack the golf gear code? Their collaboration blends prep nostalgia, technical edge, and on-course function in one cohesive drop.

Devotees of Boardroom’s golf coverage will be familiar with Students, the brand started by Michael Huynh. Huynh turned his attention to golf in 2022, and his brand quickly became one of the most interesting companies in the rapidly evolving world of golf fashion. Perhaps less familiar, but equally essential, is the inimitable Sugarloaf Social Club, the brainchild of self-proclaimed golf sicko Ian Gilley. What began as a golf group chat among college buddies quickly became one of the most essential clothing brands for golfers who want to look cool. Big stripe polos and collabs with Devereux and Quiet Golf have confirmed SSC’s longtime status as the sort of brand (like Students) that is as essential for your wardrobe on and off the links.

Because of the overlapping but distinct missions of Students and Sugarloaf, it was a thrilling development earlier this month when the two brands connected for a wide-ranging collab, Students of Sugarloaf Social Club. We caught up with Huynh and Gilley to discuss how the line — which began with the Students founder thinking it would be three pieces, while SSC thinking it’d be closer to 30 — came to be. They landed somewhere in the middle, with 17 pieces ranging from a $60 T-shirt to a $875 golf bag made with MacKenzie Golf Bags. The collaboration is a rare connection in which the ethos of both brands is accurately and fairly represented.

To hear about how the Students of Sugarloaf Social Club came to be, check out our conversation with Huynh and Gilley below.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

BOARDROOM: When did the idea come about to collaborate on a project?

Michael Huynh: Two or three years ago, we were hosting the first-ever golf tournament in Paris during Paris Fashion Week. Ian was one of the first people I reached out to. I invited Sugarloaf Social Club, Reigning Champ, and a bunch of other really cool brands. It ended up being a bit of a logistical nightmare to get all the brands together, so we partnered with Bodega and decided to do something with Sugarloaf at a later date. Ian and I reconnected about a year ago, and we decided to do a collaboration. I thought it would be three pieces, and Ian came back with a massive rollout consisting of almost 30 pieces. We were like, Hold on, let’s slow down a little bit here. We wanted to do it all, but maybe over a longer period of time. We ended up with a 17-piece collection, and I think it’s perfect. It’s a little bit bigger than most collaborations, but it shows the partnership that Ian and I have.

Ian, do you always go for the 30-piece drops? Is that your M.O.?

Ian Gilley: Michael’s personality is so infectious. I’ve been the biggest fan of Students since day one, and as soon as these guys came on the scene, I was like, This is different. These guys have a seriously specific vision. I think they bring joy to folks just like we try to do with everything we do. I started seeing Students in some of my favorite men’s boutiques across the country, and I’m just like, Dude, I love these people. We wanted to do something fun with them. I love where we ended up. We have head to toe covered, but also leaves something to the imagination. Maybe there’s a round two, maybe there’s a second semester. In this little golf world, we got to stick together and hype each other up. No one does that better than Students and Michael. I just love them, man.

The ability to be competitive and want to make your mark in the landscape while still supporting other brands is rare.

IG: We’ve been doing this a long time. Taking the bitter approach is a dead end. All I’ve ever wanted to do is make cool stuff with my friends. Students know how to make good stuff, too. That’s the other thing: they’re professionals. They know how to make really attractive garments, high-quality stuff. It was just a win-win. And yeah, hopefully we can be friends for years to come. Yeah,

MH: We’ll be playing golf together when we’re 85 years old.

What’s the step-by-step process from the idea to the drop arriving online?

MH: We didn’t want to collaborate just to collaborate. Before even approaching Ian, I wanted to make sure that each of our brands have our own perspective in a collaboration. From the very beginning, I was a little nervous about doing a collaboration with Sugarloaf because Ian’s been there for a very long time, and I wasn’t sure if he was completely open-minded to new brands. But, as soon as he opened the doors for us, it’s been all love, which is crazy. It’s so cool to see someone that’s been in space for a long time evolve. As soon as Ian and I hopped on a call, it was all love. In every collaboration that we decide to do, I make sure that the two brands have a unique perspective. We formulated a story before anything was even drafted or designed. What’s really important here is the whole graphic narrative of it. That’s the hardest piece. A lot of people tend to have issues figuring out how to lock two logos together, but for some reason, it was the easiest one that I have ever worked on.

It was so cool. Ian and Sugarloaf have been here for a long time, and comparatively, Students is the newcomer in this space. I have no ego about this at all. We’re proud to say we’re Students of Sugarloaf Social Club. That was the mantra of the whole collection.

Ian, what did the aesthetic process look like from Sugarloaf’s side?

IG: If we could distill our core ethos, it’s really this idea of high and low. We merge gorp-iness and mountaineering, technical pieces, with a preppy or vintage nostalgia. That’s where I’m always trying to land. We have hyper preppy traditional stuff, but we also have this scout fitters mindset where we’re always hunting for cool, hidden gems out in the world; going on these rogue adventures out into the wilderness and finding the weirdest nine-hole course you’ve never heard of. That paired really well with Students—learning and more of a school vibe. We brought these ideas together in a scout-heavy collection, incorporating badges to represent these adventures. It’s a little bit of work wear, you can see that in the jacket, a little bit of technical with the camp shorts. I’ve always loved a good camo, and that Aussie camo just fit the outdoorsy, color palette we were shooting for.

There were definitely some color iterations that we played with. It was beautiful. I can’t even totally explain it because it was guys just hanging out, talking about their dream stuff. It just came to be without a ton of effort—props to the Students team for pulling that off. Like, the jacket; it’s got a little crop, and it’s empowering and fun and joyful. There are inside jokes on the patches that only a golf nerd would understand. Then, pairing a polo with the more technical short is how I live my entire summer. The juxtaposition between a collared shirt and a camp short is what I’m always trying to achieve. This collection just has everything. A thousand-dollar bag with MacKenzie, but also t-shirts.

MH: It was just very natural. This whole project is probably one of the most enjoyable collaborations I’ve done in the 20+ years I’ve been doing this. It was not painful. It was just really fun working with the team.

IG: The bucket hat is not something we could pull off; it doesn’t necessarily fit aesthetically into our line. It’s something I’ve always wanted to make, though. That’s cool about collabs, too, is making stuff that only works with the right partner.