Callaway and Good Good Golf Apologize After Ad Showed Man Shoving Woman to the Ground Over a Driver

Good Good Golf and Callaway spent this week apologizing, twice each, for an advertisement that showed a man shoving a woman to the ground.

The ad promoted a co-branded Callaway Quantum driver. In it, Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark runs at content creator Alexis Miestowski as she reaches for the driver in a bag, shoves her to the ground with his forearm, then stands over her and says, "Do not touch my new driver."

Good Good posted the video Friday. It was deleted Saturday amid what NBC News described as online outrage, with viewers saying it appeared to trivialize domestic violence. Good Good issued a statement that day saying the video "ultimately depicted actions that are not aligned with our values as a brand," and adding it has "always stood for making the game of golf more inclusive to all," according to CNN.

That first apology did not settle things down. One person quoted by CBS News, describing himself as a Callaway customer, wrote online: "Please stop framing this simply as a 'mistake.' Your own statement says the video was approved by Callaway before it was posted." Another commenter, per NBC News, asked why a company would spend time and money shooting, producing and posting a video that supposedly runs counter to its own values.

Callaway admits it approved the ad

Callaway CEO Chip Brewer issued a second, more detailed apology Tuesday, this one signed "Humbly," according to Golf Digest. Brewer confirmed the video was produced by Good Good but reviewed and approved by Callaway before it went up.

"That approval should never have happened. Mistakes were made, and we are taking the matter very seriously," Brewer wrote, according to multiple outlets including the New York Times and CNN. "We are unequivocally against discrimination, domestic violence, or threatening behavior of any kind."

Brewer said Callaway is running internal and external investigations and has already changed its approval process. Golf Digest reported that Good Good Quantum drivers remained for sale on Good Good's own site as of Tuesday, but links at Dick's and Golf Galaxy showed the product listed as out of stock. Callaway had not responded to Golf Digest's question about whether it will keep selling the co-branded driver.

Good Good CEO Matt Kendrick posted his own statement on LinkedIn, telling Golf Digest the ad was intended as a parody of the movie "Obsession" that "missed the mark." "Regardless of what we intended, we are responsible for what we put into the world and how it is received. We got this one wrong," Kendrick wrote. He said he will personally review the company's marketing content going forward.

PGA Tour not satisfied

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp addressed the controversy Tuesday at a news conference ahead of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Asked directly whether Good Good had taken enough accountability, Rolapp did not soften it.

"I think, initially, no," Rolapp said, according to the New York Times. "I think what we saw was concerning and is clearly not aligned with PGA Tour values. We take it very seriously. I think their initial response was disappointing. It was a bit defensive and late."

Rolapp said the tone has since improved. "I think the responses are getting better. I think we've seen some things this morning — we've had some conversations with them — so we'll continue to monitor and work with them going forward. But, no, we were disappointed with what we saw."

The stakes go beyond a bad ad. Good Good, which started as a YouTube channel in 2020 and raised $45 million in 2025 according to the New York Times, is the title sponsor of the new Good Good Championship, a FedEx Cup Fall event scheduled for Nov. 12-15 at Omni Barton Creek in Austin, Texas. Asked whether the controversy puts that sponsorship at risk, Rolapp declined to commit either way, calling it "a bit of a fluid situation."

The fallout has already cost the company one television moment. Golf Channel postponed the premiere of its reality show "Big Break x Good Good" from Tuesday to Sept. 1, saying in a statement reported by the New York Times that the delay would allow for "necessary production updates following a request from one of the show's sponsors."

The bigger tension in golf

CNN framed the episode as part of a broader clash between golf's traditional institutions and the sport's newer, internet-driven audience. Good Good built its following on YouTube personalities and casual content rather than tour professionals, and its rise, including the Austin sponsorship, has been treated as a sign the PGA Tour is trying to reach younger fans through that ecosystem. This ad is the first real test of what happens when that newer culture collides with the Tour's institutional standards.

That tension sits alongside a broader shift in the sport. The National Golf Foundation reported a 45% increase in female golfers between 2020 and 2025, compared with a 12% increase among men, according to CBS News. Women still make up just 28% of golfers, the highest share on record. Whether Callaway faces any measurable business consequence from women golfers or retailers is not yet known — no sales data has been released.

Neither Callaway nor Good Good has said whether any employee or executive will face discipline beyond the process changes both companies described. The PGA Tour has not set a timeline for deciding whether the Good Good Championship sponsorship will proceed as scheduled in November.