Callaway Cuts Ties With Good Good Golf After Controversial Ad Sparks Backlash

CARLSBAD, California — Callaway Golf has ended its partnership with popular online golf brand Good Good after a controversial advertisement triggered widespread backlash over its depiction of violence against a woman.

The decision comes after a promotional video featuring Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark and brand influencer Alexis Miestowski was heavily criticized online. Callaway later acknowledged that approving the advertisement was a serious mistake.

The full Good Good driver video was actually 60 seconds long, and it seems like it was meant to be some sort of horror-movie spoof? It’s still viewable in some posts. (Here’s most of it:) pic.twitter.com/UBhUmKBQZY

— Stina Sternberg (@StinaSternberg) August 24, 2026

Controversial Ad Sparks Outrage

The advertisement showed Clark forcefully shoving Miestowski to the ground after she touched a Callaway driver.

Good Good said the video was intended as a spoof of the horror film Obsession. However, viewers quickly criticized the ad for portraying violence against a woman as entertainment.

The video was removed, but the backlash continued to grow across social media and throughout the golf community.

Clark and Good Good subsequently apologized, acknowledging that the advertisement was a major mistake.

Callaway Ends Partnership

Callaway initially apologized for its role in approving the campaign, saying its internal content-review process had failed.

The company ultimately decided to end its relationship with Good Good altogether.

Callaway also announced that it would donate $1 million to organizations working to prevent violence against women and support survivors.

The company said it would also make changes to its advertising-review procedures to prevent a similar situation from happening again.

Fallout Spreads Beyond Callaway

The controversy has created problems for Good Good well beyond the loss of its Callaway partnership.

Major retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy have reportedly pulled Good Good products from their stores. The group’s involvement with an upcoming PGA Tour event has also been affected, while a television project connected to Good Good has been delayed.

The controversy has therefore become a significant business setback for the fast-growing golf-content company.

Good Good has built a large following on YouTube, attracting millions of subscribers with entertainment-focused golf videos and collaborations.

Good Good Faces Growing Pressure

Good Good co-founder and CEO Matt Kendrick initially accepted responsibility for the controversial campaign.

However, the situation has become increasingly complicated as the company and Callaway have presented different accounts of how the advertisement was approved.

Kendrick has criticized Callaway’s handling of the fallout, while Callaway has maintained that the advertisement’s approval represented a serious failure in its own review process.

The disagreement could keep the controversy alive even after the business relationship has ended.

🚨🗣️👀 #WATCH — Garrett Clark, the co-founder of Good Good Golf has released a lengthy video addressing the situation with the Callaway driver ad. pic.twitter.com/e5es4Lc4Kq

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) August 27, 2026

A Major Lesson for Golf Marketing

The incident highlights the risks brands face when traditional advertising increasingly overlaps with creator-driven content.

Good Good’s popularity was built largely through social media, where provocative and entertaining content can spread extremely quickly. But the same reach that helped the company grow also amplified the backlash when viewers objected to the advertisement.

For Callaway, cutting ties and committing $1 million to organizations supporting women represents an attempt to distance itself from the controversy and demonstrate that it takes the criticism seriously.

For Good Good, the challenge is much greater: rebuilding trust with viewers, retailers, sponsors and the wider golf community after an advertisement that was intended to be provocative instead became a major business crisis.

The partnership may be over, but the fallout from the controversial ad is likely to continue affecting Good Good’s business for some time.