Good Good CEO Blasts Callaway Over $1 Million Donation After Partnership Ends

Q: Who really approved the controversial golf ad that cost Good Good its biggest corporate deals and PGA Tour sponsorship?

The evidence shows the ad was approved by marketing teams at both Good Good and Callaway, but no public reporting has established a single final individual decision-maker. Callaway’s side is the clearest on record. CEO Chip Brewer said the company had reviewed and approved the ad before it ran, and Callaway later acknowledged its review process “was not comprehensive enough.” The company also said it took internal corrective action; multiple reports say two marketing employees were let go. That amounts to a public admission that Callaway signed off on the spot at the company level. Good Good’s side is murkier but still points to internal approval below the CEO level. Matt Kendrick told Front Office Sports he did not see the ad before it went live and said he does not approve every social post. He said Good Good’s marketing team saw it, while also accusing Callaway of requesting the ad, approving it, and then abandoning Good Good when the backlash hit. Garrett Clark later said the concept was intended as a reference to the film “Obsession,” but called it a terrible idea in hindsight. So the most supportable answer is that the ad was jointly approved through both companies’ marketing channels, with Callaway publicly admitting approval and Good Good acknowledging internal team involvement. What remains unproven is who, if anyone, gave the final personal signoff beyond those teams.

3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Aug 28

Matt Kendrick accused Callaway on X of approving Good Good’s ad, then making the creator golf group “take the fall” before ending the partnership and launching a “coordinated media blitz.”
The rupture stems from a cobranded driver ad showing cofounder Garrett Clark shoving Alexis Miestowski to the ground and saying, “Do not touch my new driver,” triggering backlash over violence against women.
Callaway and Good Good had already apologized; Callaway said its review process was inadequate, made internal staffing changes, tightened approval procedures and pledged $1 million to anti-violence organizations.
The fallout has spread beyond Callaway: Dick’s Sporting Goods pulled Good Good products, the group exited as title sponsor of a fall PGA Tour event, and Golf Channel scrapped the next season of “Big Break.”
The controversy hits a company that had been a creator-economy success story, raising $45 million in 2025 and building a strong following among 25- to 34-year-old golf fans.