I’ve been following a non-political story this week; the saga of Good Good Golf. Good Good Golf (GGG) is a content production team who built their way up from a group of friends making videos to a reputable content producer who was able to create partnerships with top names, like Callaway Golf, and the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA).
This story has all of the great political narrative arcs; the event, escalation, brand, and even a nod to “cancel culture”.
Except this is different.
It’s not a “game” being played for likes and clicks on social media. In the real world, there are consequences for losing trust and failing to demonstrate good judgement. At least, in this real world story there is.
There’s also the suspense of wondering what will happen next. There is a redemption arc already written in my mind, or just the introduction to how it all ends. In this moment, both are possible. It’s a special space even after the horrible, no good, awful week for Good Good Golf.
The saga begins
At 8:36pm on August 19, GGG released a video online, tagging Callaway Golf. The ad was meant to announce a co-branded driver. It was a skit titled “The Driver”. The video was obviously meant to be a spoof but of what… was the first problem.
The short clip opened with a woman approaching a bag and reaching to pick a club. A guy then comes charging at her and tackles her to the ground. He stands over her menacingly and says “do not touch my driver” before turning and walking away. In the next scene, a different guy goes towards a bag and reaches for a club. The four people standing by are saying “no, man, don’t do it”. He looks back with his best Jack Nicholson circa the Shining impression and takes the club. No one tackles him. He misses a few shots, then hits one. Another guy says “that’s it; he’s gone.” The final scene has five of them, including the woman, with their own clubs hitting off a tee all at the same time.
It’s an enigma. Whatever they were aiming for either doesn’t resemble what they thought it did closely enough or it wasn’t as widely recognizable as they thought it was.
Anyone with eyes picked up on the overly aggressive nature of the opening scene. There’s nothing in the short video that explains any of this. The comments were overly negative from the start. The most curious were asking how the optics managed escaped every person who participated in writing it, acting in it, editing it, pitching it, and approving it.
I’m a woman who golfs. I am also a woman who owns a set of Callaway Solarires that I received on Mother’s Day in 2012. I hit a hole-in-one with my pitching wedge in 2024 and the last time we were out, I had the best front nine of my life with my trusty Big Bertha driver. I’m proud to carry their name and clubs with me.
Ever so briefly, I wondered if that would continue. That’s what the ad did to me personally. It made me question 14 years of being proud to see that name on my clubs; proud of accomplishments I’d had with them.
On a larger scale, golf was known as a “gentleman’s game”. Non-contact, plenty of etiquette, and respectful quiet while a player makes their shot. The Ladies Professional Golf Association has been working hard to build up their own organization, and the PGA has made promises to help them do the same.
That’s the environment that this video was made in.
It also stayed online for at least 41 hours. The comments were exactly like what you’d have expected; “domestic violence” was a big theme, “casual assault in a non-contact sport” was another. I said as much when I forwarded it around myself. It did not feel good, let alone good good. Still; it remained online.
I did a little research. Callaway partnered with GGG back in 2023.
“Callaway is proud to partner with Good Good Golf, and to collaborate with them as they continue to make the game more inviting, visible and entertaining for golfers of all ages and backgrounds,” said Callaway Golf VP of Global Marketing Nick McInally.
“Good Good has a proven track record of creating family-developed content that celebrates how golf creates friendships, memories and fun wherever it’s played, and we look forward to highlighting those stories with their team.”
Again, the ad was obviously a spoof… but it meant nothing to me. Whatever they were attempting to put together went right over too many people’s heads.
After finally deleting it in the afternoon of August 21, GGG released a brief statement saying “we posted a video to our channels that ultimately depicted actions that are not aligned with our values as a brand. We have since taken that content down and sincerely apologize. 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.”
Although, it wasn’t “ultimately” was it? It was literally content that they wrote, directed, acted in, edited, posted to their channels, and someone watched the response and did nothing for at least 41 hours.
That was followed by an even briefer statement from Callaway. “We are disappointed by the content that was posted, and are appreciative of Good Good for addressing this. We look forward to working together to ensure a more inclusive space in golf.”
The internet was already geared up thanks to having almost two days to go at it. In what should have been equally telling from the replies they’d already seen, it was not going in the direction that the product partner, Callaway, would have appreciated.
Partners in time
On August 24, Chip Brewer, CEO of Callaway Golf, put out a more fulsome statement.
To our customer, employees, stakeholders and golfers everywhere;
Last week, Good Good Golf and Callaway posted a video to promote a co-branded driver. While the video was produced by Good Good, it was approved by Callaway prior to posting. That approval should never have happened. Mistakes were made, and we are taking the matter very seriously.
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. The content was inappropriate and does not reflect our values. To be clear: we are we are unequivocally against discrimination, domestic violence, or threatening behaviour of any kind.
As soon as we recognized the seriousness of the issues, it was escalated appropriately, and the video was immediately removed. Preliminary statements were issued by both Good Good and Callaway, and now this statement has followed. We are also conducting both internal and external investigations and have already made changes to our approval processes aimed at ensuring this will never happen again.
We believe we have been a positive force for diversity and inclusion in the game of golf. This video was completely inconsistent with that. I assure that we will learn from this and do better.
Humbly,
Chip Brewer— CEO, Callaway Golf
This was the moment that the trajectory of GGG and Callaway Golf were no longer in parallel. Admitting their share of responsibility (as opposed to the first statement), and the fact that the CEO had to be brought in, meant that Callaway Golf was no longer worried about preserving a partnership; they had moved into self-preservation mode.
It’s also important to note that it was a “partnership”. GGG was not employed by Callaway as a content producer; they were “partners”. The ad was supposed to launch a new product that carried both of their names.
GGG made an editorial/artistic decision and they stood by it for almost two full days while the waves of negativity came crashing down upon them. That was their decision. Except… they weren’t really doing it alone. It was a “partnership”. A rising tide just doesn’t float all boats, it can sink them, too.
While I often think internet trolls should be given far less credibility than they are, generally speaking, by the time Callaway Golf’s CEO had to get involved, the damage had already escaped containment.
How trickle-down economics actually works
GGG hadn’t just made an editorial/artistic decision to accept the negativity that ensued for almost two full days, they made a business decision for their own brand.
I have to say it out loud because, as it turns out, the founder/CEO of GGG hasn’t made that connection yet, despite what continued to happen over the following week.
GGG was set to be part of a reboot on Golf Channel called Big Break x Good Good. The Golf Channel didn’t name names but in a short note on August 25, stated that “a sponsor” wanted their name removed from the show, which caused the Golf Channel to delay the premiere.
GOLF CHANNEL PROGRAMMING NOTE
Golf channel is postponing tonight’s premiere of Big Break x Good Good to next Tuesday, September 1. This will allow for necessary production updates following a request from one of the show’s sponsors to remove its branding from the series.
In a post by Channel staff, they added “Big Break’s postponement comes four days after Good Good, the YouTube golf brand that partnered with Golf Channel on this Big Break reboot and has several of its members featured in the show, released an objectionable video promoting a new Callaway driver.”
Notice again, the word “partnered”.
And that driver they were going to release? Competitors saw a pretty blatant opportunity. Parsons Xtreme Golf launched a short ad days later with LPGA Tour player Olivia Cowan, captioned “Our drivers play nice with everyone.”
It’s one thing to say “of course we don’t agree with assaulting women” but the GGG ad made it easy to compete with by doing something as simple as saying their “drivers play nice with everyone” and promoting women’s golf. Or, the LPGA generally.
A couple of days later, on August 27, a third, and final statement came from Callaway Golf. By this time, the end of the partnership was more than expected but they really drove the message home with devastating clarity.
Over the last several days, we have listened and reflected deeply on the hurt and disappointment caused by the video we reposted. We heard from individuals who shared personal experiences related to violence against women, and their stories were powerful reminders that this issue touches the lives of far too many people. Violence against women is unacceptable and should never be trivialized, normalized or used as entertainment.
We have now completed our review of this matter and are taking the following actions:
Callaway has ended its relationship with Good Good, effective immediately
In this instance, our content review process was not comprehensive enough. We have taken appropriate internal corrective actions and significantly strengthened our approval processes to ensure this does not happen again.
We are committing $1 million to support organizations working to prevent violence against women, provide resources to survivors, and advance education and awareness efforts.
These actions do not undo the harm caused or excuse our role in it. We sincerely apologize to everyone who was hurt, disappointed, or offended by this incident.
One of Callaway Golf’s core values is to be a positive influence, both in the game of golf and in our communities. We are further strengthening our commitment to these initiatives, and this will be an ongoing focus of our company. We are committed to learning from this incident and helping ensure that golf is a place where everyone feels respected, valued, and welcome.
That was just the beginning.
The Golf Channel decided to cancel the reboot of Big Break entirely.
Remember that earlier part about the PGA working to promote their similarly-named professional organization? Well, the PGA has long proven that it isn’t hurting for sponsors and they have the ability to pick and choose who they will partner with.
By the end of business day, the PGA issued their own statement about an upcoming tournament that fall, framing their response as accepting GGG’s decision to step away.
GGG’s own response suggests it wasn’t really an option.
After thoughtful discussions with the PGA Tour and careful reflection, we have decided to step away as sponsor of the tour event in Austin this fall.
We recognize that we have work to do as an organization, and our focus right now is on our team, our culture, and ensuring we learn from this situation.
We are grateful for our relationship with the PGA Tour and appreciate their partnership over the years. We remain committed to earning back trust, and we hope to work together again the future.
Now. You might think that has to be the end of it… but no.
The victim
The thought was in my head all week: cancel culture; the battle cry of losers who think others owe them something.
As I dug further into the many partnerships GGG had built, I was kind of rooting for them not to go there. All is not lost— they haven’t entirely gone over to the dark side yet, but they are on the precipice of a point of no return.
From a political communications standpoint, none of the responses from GGG seemed comfortable with accepting that they made a poor decision; they avoided acknowledging that their decision affected anyone else. They didn’t act like a “partner”.
And then it happened: the founder and CEO of Good Good Golf returned to X after not posting for 11 years; to blame someone else.
The anti-cancel culture baes and bros were waiting for him; ready to defend the ad and the choices GGG made for their business.
The sad reality is that losers are constantly looking for a new hero to look up to because their heroes… are… losers. Every freaking time.
I’ll say that Mr. Kendrick is so far not entirely embracing his new status on X. He’s being somewhat cautious in the responses I’ve seen— simple thank you’s for messages of support— but the environment is egging him on to burn everything down and he could easily take that step into the abyss.
It is possible that Mr. Kendrick isn’t lying. He could be friends with the person who approved the ad at Callaway. Maybe that person asked him to take the fall because they hadn’t even looked at it. Having been a partner with GGG for three years, maybe they approved it without looking because they trusted that the content would be completely fine— because it usually was. Or maybe the approvals person completely got the spoof and didn’t consider how it might land otherwise.
Any of that could be true, and it might have maybe it even mattered— right up until the moment that the CEO had to issue a statement no CEO of a billion-dollar brand ever wants to have to put their name to.
From that moment, Callaway was going to defend their brand, their sponsorships, and their other partners— because that’s what good partners do.
When GGG tagged their partner, saw that it was going down the proverbial toilet and failed to recognize the risk to their own brand— let alone their partner’s— but also failed to protect the brands from that risk, GGG failed to act like a partner.
That’s the decision GGG is facing repercussions for— they didn’t act like a partner, they acted like an employee; and employees are replaceable.
I can see the space they’re in right now though, politically speaking.
In this moment, their future has two possibilities; taking the easy way out and becoming king of the losers on X, or beginning the hard work of rebuilding trust. Of truly understanding how their actions had the potential to hurt someone else, acknowledging that, and working to become a better partner in the future.
Despite the many wrong turns, I’m rooting for them to choose to do the work. I’m hoping they figure out where they went wrong and decide to do better. It would mean a lot.
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Sure you don’t want to run a business course? There’s a semester worth in this dialogue
Toughest thing for bro’s with ego to say and do - sincerely apologize and accept responsibility. It’s not like we don’t all have our moments.
I don’t do Twitter for a couple of reasons. I have nothing to say that I think the world is waiting to hear.
And secondly why would I whinge in public?
That is definitely commentary with a niche market!