An advertisement meant to promote a new golf club turned into a major crisis for American golf brand Good Good Golf within days, leading to canceled partnerships, products pulled from shelves, and the departure of two senior company executives.
The one-minute video, created in collaboration with golf equipment giant Callaway, showed Garrett Clark, one of Good Good's co-founders, chasing professional golfer Alexis Maestowski after she attempts to touch his golf club. Clark then forcibly pushes her to the ground, leans over her, and says: "Don't touch my new driver."
The company explained that the video was intended as parody, but online it drew sharp criticism for portraying violence against women as a joke. The video was removed the same day it was published.
Wave of fallout and resignations followed. Good Good apologized and acknowledged the video displayed "actions that do not align with our values as a brand." Clark himself later released an eight-minute apology video, calling the advertisement "the worst ad mankind has ever known" and clarifying: "I do not support domestic violence or abuse of any kind."
The storm only intensified from there. Callaway CEO Chip Brewer admitted that although Good Good produced the video, his company approved it before publication. "That approval should not have happened. Mistakes were made and we are taking this matter very seriously," he said. Days later, Callaway announced it was ending its three-year partnership with Good Good and donating one million dollars to organizations working to prevent violence against women.
In early September, the crisis reached the company's top leadership: CEO Matt Kendrick and President Joe Flannery left Good Good. An internal memo to employees stated that company founder Nahid Giga would serve as interim CEO. The company did not officially link the departures to the advertisement, though they came less than two weeks after the controversy erupted.
