What is the Good Good ad causing so much upset?

What Is the Good Good Ad Causing So Much Upset?

The Good Good ad controversy is about a now-deleted promotional video made for a Good Good x Callaway driver.

The advert showed Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark rushing towards fellow Good Good creator Alexis Miestowski after she reached for the driver in a golf bag. Clark then shoved her to the ground and stood over her, with the line: “Do not touch my new driver.”

It was intended as a dramatic, horror-style joke about being obsessed with a golf club. Instead, it was widely criticised for appearing to make light of violence against women.

That is why the story moved so quickly from “bad golf advert” to a much bigger issue involving Good Good, Callaway, major retailers and the PGA Tour.

The problem was not that the advert was edgy. The problem was that the joke depended on a man physically intimidating a woman over a golf club.

What Was the Good Good Callaway Ad?

The advert was promoting a Good Good-branded Callaway Quantum driver.

Good Good is one of golf’s biggest YouTube and content brands. Callaway is one of the biggest equipment companies in the game. That is why the reaction was so strong. This was not a random local shop advert. It was a major golf brand and a major golf media company putting out a product launch video.

According to reports from Golf Digest, GOLF.com and CBS News, the clip showed Clark pushing Miestowski after she tried to take the new driver from the bag.

The ad was quickly deleted after backlash online.

Why Are People Upset About It?

People are upset because the ad appeared to trivialise violence against women.

In golf terms, the concept was supposed to be simple: the driver is so good that Clark’s character becomes obsessively protective of it. But the execution meant the main visual was a male golfer shoving a female golfer to the ground.

That is a very different message.

The backlash was not only about whether the shove was staged. Most viewers understand adverts and skits are staged. The issue was that the advert used a physical attack on a woman as the central gag.

That felt especially tone-deaf in a sport still trying to grow women’s participation and make golf feel less closed off.

The “It Was Just a Skit” Defence

Some people have defended the advert by saying it was clearly fictional, staged and meant to be a joke.

That is true in one narrow sense. It was not real violence happening spontaneously. It was a planned scene in a commercial.

But that does not really answer the criticism.

Adverts are judged by what they communicate, not just what the creator intended. If the message people take away is “this looks like a man threatening a woman over a golf club”, then the brand has a problem.

A golf club advert should make people want to try the product. This one made people talk about whether the creative team understood the image they had just put into the world.

What Did Garrett Clark Say?

Garrett Clark later apologised publicly.

He said the ad was based on a character idea linked to the film Obsession, with the point being that his character was obsessed with the driver. He also said he personally wanted to apologise for the role he played in the skit.

Reports from People and the New York Post said Clark called the ad a terrible idea and accepted that it should not have gone out.

That apology matters, but it came after the story had already spread.

Once a video like this gets copied, reposted and discussed across golf social media, deleting the original does not end the issue.

What Did Good Good Say?

Good Good apologised after deleting the video.

Its statement said the video showed actions that were not aligned with the brand’s values. That first response did not satisfy everyone, partly because many people felt it sounded too standard and did not fully address why the video had caused such a strong reaction.

That is one reason the controversy kept growing.

A weak first apology can make a brand issue worse. If people think the response is defensive, vague or too polished, they often focus even more on the lack of accountability.

What Did Callaway Say?

Callaway also apologised.

The important detail is that Callaway was not just an uninvolved manufacturer whose product happened to appear in the advert. Callaway CEO Chip Brewer later acknowledged that the video was produced by Good Good but approved by Callaway before posting.

That point matters.

Callaway is a major golf brand with a long-standing presence across tour golf, club golf and retail. Its approval gave the ad a level of corporate responsibility that would not exist if Good Good had made it independently.

The criticism became: how did this get through Good Good’s team and Callaway’s approval process?

That is a fair question.

Why Did This Become Such a Big Golf Story?

The story became big because it hit several pressure points at once.

First, Good Good is not a small creator group anymore. It is a serious golf media and lifestyle brand with millions of followers.

Second, Callaway is one of golf’s biggest equipment companies. When a brand that size signs off on a controversial advert, people expect better judgement.

Third, golf is trying hard to grow beyond its old image. Women’s golf, junior golf, creator golf and more inclusive club environments are all part of the sport’s future. An advert that appears to make light of a woman being shoved to the floor goes directly against that.

Fourth, the commercial fallout made the story bigger. This was not just people arguing in comments. Retailers and golf organisations started reacting.

What Has Happened Since?

The ad has been deleted, and both Good Good and Callaway have apologised.

There has also been commercial fallout. Reports said Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy removed Good Good products from sale. Other reports said the PGA Tour was reviewing its relationship with Good Good, including the Good Good Championship, a FedExCup Fall event planned for Texas.

The PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp also criticised the initial handling of the situation, saying the video was concerning and not aligned with PGA Tour values.

Golf Channel’s Big Break x Good Good was also reportedly delayed after the backlash.

That is why this is no longer just “a bad ad”. It has become a brand trust issue.

Was the Reaction Too Much?

Some of the reaction has gone too far.

Criticising the advert is fair. Criticising the approval process is fair. Asking questions of Good Good and Callaway is fair.

But personal abuse, threats or harassment aimed at individuals involved is not useful. Clark apologised. Miestowski should not be dragged into abuse because she was part of a skit that has already caused enough damage.

There is a difference between accountability and a pile-on.

Golf should be able to say, clearly, that the advert was badly judged without turning the response into something equally ugly.

What Good Good Got Wrong

Good Good got the tone wrong.

The brand has grown partly because it makes golf feel more accessible, casual and online-native. That is why this advert felt so jarring. It did not make golf look fun. It made the product look tied to intimidation.

The mistake was not just the shove. It was the whole creative decision.

If the point was “this driver is so good you will be obsessed with it”, there were plenty of ways to show that without using a man physically overpowering a woman.

That is basic creative judgement.

Good golf content can be funny, chaotic and different without crossing that line.

What Callaway Got Wrong

Callaway’s mistake was approval.

A large brand should have enough checks in place to stop an advert like this before it goes live. That is especially true when the campaign involves violence, gender dynamics and a major product launch.

The product itself became secondary. Most people are not now talking about the Callaway Quantum driver’s performance, shape, face technology or who it suits.

They are talking about the advert.

That is a failed launch.

When the controversy becomes bigger than the product, the marketing has missed its job.

Why This Matters for Golf

Golf has spent years trying to modernise.

YouTube golf, women’s golf, social media creators, relaxed dress codes, shorter formats and more accessible course content are all part of that shift. Good Good has been one of the brands at the centre of that change.

That is why this controversy matters.

If creator golf wants to be taken seriously, it has to handle the same responsibility as traditional golf media and big equipment brands. Huge audiences come with consequences. The old “it is just YouTube” excuse does not work when there are major partnerships, retail deals and PGA Tour events involved.

The bigger golf becomes online, the more careful golf brands need to be with what they put out.

What Should Brands Learn From It?

The lesson is not “never take creative risks”.

Golf advertising can be boring. There is room for sharper, funnier and more memorable ideas.

But creative risk still needs judgement.

A few simple questions would have helped:

• What does this look like without the internal explanation?

• Would this still work if the viewer does not know the joke?

• Does the advert make the product look better?

• Does it make golf feel more welcoming?

• Would we be comfortable explaining this to women golfers, junior golfers and parents?

• Could the same idea be done without the physical threat?

If the answer is awkward, the advert probably should not go out.

The Honest Read

The Good Good ad caused so much upset because it was not just a poor golf advert. It was a poor golf advert from two major golf brands, built around a visual that many people saw as trivialising violence against women.

Good Good and Callaway have both apologised, but the fallout shows how badly the advert landed. Retailers reacted. The PGA Tour questioned the response. Golf media picked it apart. Fans argued over whether it was offensive, stupid or both.

The simplest view is probably the right one.

The ad should never have been approved.

It did not sell the driver. It did not make Good Good look clever. It did not make Callaway look modern. It made golf look worse than it needed to.

For a sport trying to grow, that is the real problem.

FAQ: Good Good Callaway Ad Controversy

What was the Good Good ad about?

The ad promoted a Good Good-branded Callaway Quantum driver. It showed Garrett Clark shoving Alexis Miestowski after she reached for the driver in a golf bag.

Why was the Good Good ad controversial?

It was criticised because many viewers felt it appeared to make light of violence against women.

Has the Good Good ad been deleted?

Yes. The advert was removed after backlash online.

Did Good Good apologise?

Yes. Good Good apologised after removing the video.

Did Callaway approve the Good Good advert?

Callaway CEO Chip Brewer later said the video was produced by Good Good but approved by Callaway before being posted.

What happened to Good Good products?

Reports said Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy removed Good Good products after the controversy.

Is the PGA Tour involved?

The PGA Tour has been drawn in because of Good Good’s wider relationship with the Tour, including the planned Good Good Championship. PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp criticised the initial response to the advert.