The normally buttoned-up world of golf is dealing with its latest collision between traditional sensibilities and new age internet culture – and this time it’s putting into question how and whether those two worlds merge. The golf-focused media company Good Good and equipment maker Callaway are both under fire this week after the release of an advertisement for a new co-branded driver featuring personalities from Good Good. The ad started with a shocking image of Garrett Clark, one of the co-founders of Good Good, shoulder-checking Alexis Miestowski to the ground as she went to touch his driver. The advertisement quickly drew immense backlash and was pulled down, with Callaway and Good Good both facing intense questions over how an ad showing a violent act against a woman would be approved and posted. Early on Tuesday morning, Callaway CEO Chip Brewer admitted his company approved the ad and apologized for that mistake. “As we deal with the consequences of our mistake and complete our investigations, I want to make it clear that we sincerely apologize for the video,” Brewer wrote in a statement posted to X. “The content was inappropriate and does not reflect our values. To be clear: We are unequivocally against discrimination, domestic violence, or threatening behavior of any kind.” For its part, Good Good also apologized after the video was pulled on Saturday, saying, “Good Good has always stood for making the game of golf more inclusive to all, and we will continue to ensure that is our mission moving forward.” The involvement of Good Good in this controversy is particularly notable given the company’s place in the emerging ecosystem of internet golf. The company is among the leading brands as the sport explodes on social media, bringing in new fans to the game who prefer watching the ebullient personalities on the course to the normally demure and understated players who make up the professional ranks on the PGA Tour. Good Good’s place in the game has grown over the years since it was founded in 2020 and the company has branched out from content creation into merchandising, with its stylized “Good” hats prominent on fairways across the country. Good Good’s popularity is such that it made its way into golf’s upper echelon when it became the title partner for the Good Good Championship taking place this November in Austin, Texas. But it’s that partnership that has now come under scrutiny in the fallout of the ill-conceived advertisement as the PGA Tour takes in all the reaction – and evaluates Good Good’s response to it. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp on Tuesday told reporters at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club, the scene of this weekend’s season-ending Tour Championship, that he was disappointed in Good Good’s reaction to the controversy, saying that the company did not show enough accountability. “Initially no. I think what we saw was concerning, and is clearly not aligned with PGA Tour values,” Rolapp said. “We take it very seriously. I think their initial response was disappointing. It was a bit defensive and late, but I think the responses are getting better.” When asked directly if the video and subsequent response would affect the tournament in November, Rolapp said, “It’s a bit of a fluid situation.” “We were disappointed at first. It sounds like in the last 24 hours they’ve made some progress. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and see how it develops,” he said. The PGA Tour is golf’s preeminent brand and has nearly 100 years of history as the home of men’s golf’s biggest names, but it has also faced challenges in the 2020s like never before. From the creation of LIV Golf as a big-money alternative tour for players to online media companies like Good Good that attract viewers to a much more relaxed and internet-savvy presentation of the game, the tour has been making numerous changes to try and attract new fans and keep its current fans engaged amid these new challenges to its hegemony. But in some ways, the tour has embraced these golf influencers and personalities to modernize its brand. The usual rank-and-file of reporters and photographers at tour events is now also scattered with independent content creators making videos for their own social media channels, and the tour works with some of them to promote events weeks ahead of time. The Good Good Championship in a few months was seen as a novel concept bringing the old and new worlds of golf together in a groundbreaking way. However, the Good Good/Callaway video and its aftermath represents the clearest clash of boisterous, sometimes over-the-top internet influencers and the modest and conservative image of the PGA Tour – especially when the two are in business together. It’s making for some intense conversations that could shape the future of these kinds of partnerships.
