The top leadership of golf media platform Good Good Golf has left the company following a public backlash over an advertisement that showed a man shoving a woman to the ground and telling her not to touch his club.
The company parted ways with CEO Matt Kendrick and President Joe Flannery, according to a statement on Wednesday from Alex Puchala, Good Good's chief financial and operating officer.
The ad, posted online last month before being removed, showed a male golfer pushing down a female golfer as she reached for his new driver. The video quickly sparked outrage and calls for a boycott of Callaway—which co-produced and branded the ad.
Callaway issued an apology, and CEO Chip Brewer said in a statement on Tuesday that the company had launched an investigation into how the ad—produced by Good Good Golf—was approved.
“Last week, Good Good Golf and Callaway posted a video to promote a co-branded driver model,” Brewer said. “The content of the ad was inappropriate and does not reflect our values. We clearly oppose any form of discrimination, domestic violence, or threatening behavior... I assure you we will learn from this and do better.”
Nahid Giga, a board member and investor at Good Good, has been appointed interim CEO, while Vice President of Brand and Marketing Jeffrey Lefkovits was fired earlier this week.
Good Good Golf was founded as a YouTube channel in 2020 and is now one of the largest content creators in golf, featuring eight men and four women competing in matches and challenges. They have TV shows, apparel, and other merchandise.
The company said the controversial video was intended to parody the thriller film Obsession. But criticism was immediate and unrelenting.
The video was removed on the day it was posted, Aug. 20, but it continued to spread across social media, and apologies from Good Good and Callaway were not enough to quell public backlash.
“We are disappointed by what we saw,” PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said of Good Good's response. “The PGA Tour believes in golf's ability to bring people together and create a welcoming environment for all.”
Good Good has pulled its title sponsorship of a new PGA Tour event in Austin, Texas, scheduled for later this year. The tour said the event will still take place.
Callaway has ended its relationship with Good Good, and retailers such as Golf Galaxy and its parent company Dick's Sporting Goods have removed Good Good merchandise from shelves. Golf Channel also canceled the new season of its reality TV show Big Break, where it partnered with Good Good.
Garrett Clark, a Good Good founder and the person who shoved the woman in the video, posted an eight-minute video, calling the controversial ad “the worst ad known to man” and saying it was “not what we stand for.”
