Good Good Golf Leadership Exits After Ad Backlash

Good Good Golf has parted ways with chief executive Matt Kendrick and president Joe Flannery following a major backlash over a controversial advertisement accused of depicting domestic violence.

The departures were announced on Wednesday by Alex Puchala, the company's head of finance and operations. Nahid Giga, a Good Good board member and investor, has been appointed interim CEO, while vice president of brand and marketing Jeffrey Lefkovits was dismissed earlier this week.

The controversy centres on an advertisement promoting a co-branded Callaway golf driver. Released online on August 20, the video showed a male golfer pushing a female player to the ground after she reached for his new club and telling her not to touch it.

The advertisement was removed on the same day, but footage continued to circulate widely on social media, prompting calls to boycott Callaway products and intense criticism of both companies.

Callaway chief executive Chip Brewer apologised and said the company had launched an investigation into how the advertisement, which was produced by Good Good Golf, had been approved.

Brewer said the video was inappropriate and did not represent Callaway's values, adding that the company opposed discrimination, domestic violence and threatening behaviour.

Good Good had previously described the advertisement as a parody of the horror film Obsession, but the explanation failed to quell the criticism.

The fallout has spread beyond the two companies. Callaway ended its relationship with Good Good, while major retailers including Golf Galaxy and parent company Dick's Sporting Goods removed Good Good merchandise from their stores.

Golf Channel also cancelled a new season of its Big Break reality series that had been developed in partnership with Good Good.

The PGA Tour has also distanced itself from the company. PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp said the organisation was disappointed by the advertisement and stressed the importance of golf being an inclusive and welcoming sport.

Good Good subsequently withdrew as title sponsor of a new PGA Tour event scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas, later this year. The tournament is still expected to proceed.

Good Good began as a YouTube channel in 2020 and has since grown into one of golf's largest digital media operations. Its content features a group of male and female golfers competing in challenges and other formats, with the business expanding into television programmes, clothing and merchandise.

Garrett Clark, a Good Good founder who appears in the advertisement pushing the woman, later released an eight-minute video condemning the campaign. He described it as "the worst ad known to man" and said the commercial did not represent what Good Good stands for.

The leadership changes mark the latest consequences of a controversy that has rapidly escalated from an advertising campaign into a major crisis for the golf media company.