A week ago, Good Good Golf’s hats and apparel lined shelves at retail locations across the country. The golf entertainment and lifestyle company’s booming online business had helped it strike deals with some of the sport’s biggest brands. Good Good was preparing to lend its name to a PGA Tour tournament this fall, a major coup for a digital upstart that had grown into one of the dominant forces in YouTube golf, with more than 2 million subscribers.
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Now, just days after releasing an advertisement that showed one of its co-founders shoving a woman to the ground over a golf club, the company is reeling.
Callaway announced Thursday that it had ended its three-year relationship with Good Good. Hours later, Good Good withdrew as title sponsor of a PGA Tour tournament scheduled for Nov. 12-15 in Austin. The event will continue under a new name.
“We recognize that we have work to do as an organization, and our focus right now is on our team, our culture and ensuring we learn from this situation,” Good Good CEO Matt Kendrick said in a statement.
Callaway, which approved and reposted the advertisement, acknowledged that its review process “was not comprehensive enough.” The equipment manufacturer pledged $1 million to organizations that work to prevent violence against women and support survivors.
The controversy began last Friday, when Good Good posted an advertisement promoting a limited-edition driver made with Callaway. In the video, Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark runs toward fellow content creator Alexis Miestowski as she reaches for the club, shoves her onto her back and stands over her.
“Do not touch my new driver,” Clark says.
The video was quickly deleted but continued circulating on social media, where it was widely criticized for making light of violence against women. Good Good said it was intended as a parody of the horror movie “Obsession.”
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Good Good and Callaway initially apologized, but PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp called Good Good early response “disappointing,” “defensive and late.”
In an eight-minute video posted to social media, Clark apologized and said the criticism was justified.
“Looking back, super dumb ad concept, terrible ad in general,” he said. “Minutes after it got posted, I was cringing. I thought it was the worst ad known to man.”
PGA Tour Superstore and Target, along with Dick’s Sporting Goods and its subsidiary Golf Galaxy, removed Good Good merchandise from stores and websites this week.
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