Good Good Golf CEO and co-founder Matt Kendrick has hit back at Callaway Golf following the equipment manufacturer’s decision to sever ties with the YouTube golf brand, hinting at a potential lawsuit and accusing his former partner of shifting blame.
Good Good Golf CEO Lashes Out After Callaway Partnership Termination
The fallout stems from a deleted 15-second promotional video created for a co-branded Quantum driver. The advertisement featured Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark shoving brand influencer Alexis Miestowski to the ground with a forearm to the back as she approached a golf bag, before standing over her and warning, Do not touch my new driver.
According to Kendrick, the content was intended to parody a scene from the horror movie Obsession.
The video drew intense backlash for portraying violence against women. In response to the controversy, Callaway CEO Chip Brewer acknowledged that Good Good produced the video but confirmed that Callaway had approved it, noting that approval never should have happened.
Callaway subsequently ended its partnership with Good Good and committed $1 million to causes fighting domestic violence, stating that its content review process was not comprehensive enough.
Kendrick Alleges Coordinated Blitz and Hints at Legal Action
Taking to social media platform X, Kendrick disputed how the termination and public relations fallout were handled. In a series of posts, he alleged that Callaway approved the advertisement before dropping Good Good in a coordinated media blitz.
Interesting that @CallawayGolf asks us to make an ad then approves it then asks us to take the fall then drops us in a coordinated media blitz and covers it up by giving a million dollars away thinking everyone will be ok with it,
Kendrick posted on X, adding the remark, (The) 30 for 39 will be legendary.
When responding to other users on the platform, Kendrick replied Not opposed
to a suggestion that Good Good sue Callaway for owed funds and damages, and stated he would be open to joining a boycott against the company. Despite the turbulence, Kendrick expressed confidence in the future of the brand, which launched as a YouTube platform in 2020 and has amassed more than 2 million subscribers.
Commercial Fallout and Retailer Actions
The controversy has generated widespread commercial implications across the golf industry. Major retailers including Golf Galaxy and Dick’s Sporting Goods pulled Good Good merchandise from both their physical stores and online listings.
The fallout also impacted media projects tied to the brand. The premiere of the Golf Channel reality competition Big Break x Good Good—a reboot of the reality series that first aired in 2003—was postponed after a sponsor requested its branding be removed. Furthermore, Good Good dropped its sponsorship rights for an upcoming PGA Tour event scheduled for November in Austin, Texas.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp criticized Good Good’s initial response to the backlash as defensive and late, noting that the content was clearly not aligned with PGA Tour values. However, Rolapp acknowledged that communications had progressed as the situation continued to develop.
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