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Summary
Callaway Golf has ended its partnership with YouTube’s Good Good Golf after a controversial driver advertisement ignited significant backlash. The ad, showing founder Garrett Clark shoving a female golfer for touching his club, prompted immediate boycotts and led major retailers to pull Good Good merchandise. Despite an initial apology and an eight-minute video from Clark claiming the ad was a spoof, Callaway defended its decision to cut ties. This escalating controversy now places Good Good’s title sponsorship of an upcoming FedEx Cup event in jeopardy, with the PGA Tour CEO expressing “concerning” views and other event sponsors reportedly considering withdrawal.
Callaway Golf has cut ties with YouTube powerhouse Good Good Golf. The split comes on the heels of a controversial advertisement Good Good did in collaboration with Callaway Golf for a new driver.
The advertisement showed Garrett Clark, one of Good
The advertisement showed Garrett Clark, one of Good Good’s founders, shoving a female golfer to the ground when she touched his new driver. He then stands over her as ominous music plays and says, “never touch my driver.”
The backlash to the advertisement first posted on August 21st was swift. Women immediately began posting on social media sites about boycotting Callaway and Good Good Golf. Companies such as Golf Galaxy, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target quickly pulled all Good Good merchandise from shelves.
An initial statement last weekend apologizing for the ad was posted by Good Good. As outrage over the advertisement grew, Clark issued a statement on Wednesday evening that was over eight minutes long. In it, he issued an apology and commented that this isn’t what Good Good Golf is about. He went on to say that the advertisement was supposed to be a spoof of the movie Obsession. The full video from Garrett Clark can be seen below.
Callaway released a statement on Thursday defending
Callaway released a statement on Thursday defending their decision to drop Good Good and gave their reasoning behind ending the brand partnership now. The full statement from Callaway can be viewed below.
Good Good was set to be the title sponsor of a new FedEx Cup fall event in Austin, Texas, Nov. 12-15 at Omni Barton Creek. That could now be in flux as PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp did not seem happy with the advertisement, calling it “concerning” in an interview. He went further saying, Good Good’s “initial response was disappointing,” and that the situation is “fluid.” It has been reported that the PGA Tour is mulling over what to do with the event as some of the other sponsors have signaled possibly pulling out if Good Good Golf stays on as the title sponsor of the event.
Mike is a founding member of Break80 Golf and a contributing golf and sports writer for Forbes with PGA Tour and LIV Golf media credentials. Mike can be contacted at break80podcast@gmail.com for inquiries and story leads.
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Source: www.forbes.com
