Craig Kessler called the Good Good Golf ad “brutal” and “heartbreaking.” The 60-second video showed co-founder Garrett Clark pushing creator Alexis Miestowski to the ground, and the fallout was swift: Callaway ended its partnership, major retailers pulled the brand’s products, and the criticism kept coming. But the LPGA commissioner also talked about forgiveness at the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit on October 13.
“In many ways, heartbreaking,” Kessler said. “The fact that someone thought that was a good idea, and it came to life, just shows you that while society has made enormous progress, we have a very, very long way to go.”
“Brutal that it happened—awful—my heart goes out to anybody who was affected, and I think a lot of lessons were learned,” he summed up the episode.
The ad drew heavy criticism, with several golf media personalities saying it appeared to promote violence against women. Good Good said the video was meant to parody the horror movie Obsession. Miestowski is a former Division I golfer, and both she and Clark create content for Good Good. Following the backlash, Good Good and Callaway removed the video from their social media accounts and ended their partnership.
Callaway CEO Chip Brewer later admitted that the ad should never have been approved. He also confirmed that Callaway had reviewed and approved the video before its release, meaning the company shared responsibility for what happened.
On August 27, Callaway ended its partnership with Good Good, which began in 2023. In its statement.
“These actions do not undo the harm caused or excuse our role in it,” the statement read.
Callaway also promised to donate $1 million to organizations that work to prevent violence against women.
The fallout continued. According to Front Office Sports, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy and PGA Tour Superstore pulled Good Good merchandise from their stores. Good Good also gave up its title sponsorship of Golf Channel’s revamped Big Break series and a PGA Tour event in Austin.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp also spoke about the controversy ahead of the Tour Championship. He called Good Good’s initial response “disappointing.” These were Rolapp’s first public comments on the issue. However, he also said Good Good’s later response had improved.
On August 27, Good Good withdrew as the title sponsor of a PGA Tour event in Austin. Its CEO, Matt Kendrick, stepped down on September 2. Nahid Giga, an early investor and board member, took over as interim CEO.
Despite the backlash to the ad, Good Good’s online presence has remained strong. Front Office Sports reported on October 5 that the company resumed posting videos on August 29 and had uploaded nine videos since then.
Each video received an average of just under one million views, close to the channel’s usual numbers. Data from Social Blade, cited by the outlet, also showed that Good Good gained around 20,000 YouTube subscribers in 30 days.
A Good Good spokesperson told Front Office Sports that the company’s online store had its “biggest traffic days ever” during the final week of August. This figure came from the company itself and has not been independently confirmed.
The spokesperson also said that most of the hundreds of golf course pro shops selling Good Good products had continued to stock them. However, some major retailers that removed their merchandise had not responded to the outlet’s questions about their plans.
As of October 5, Callaway’s shares had fallen 9% since the advertisement was released. However, they were still up 22% for the year, according to Front Office Sports.
Kessler connected his comments about Good Good to his own experience in February, when he faced heavy criticism for cancelling the final round of the LPGA’s season-opening tournament in Florida because of freezing temperatures.
“I got vilified for making that call,” he said. “I mean, vilified. My kids came home from elementary school, and they’re like, ‘Dad, my friend Googled you, and it seems like you suck at your job.’”
He said his biggest regret was going against several members of his team who had disagreed with his decision.
“They were right, and I was wrong,” Kessler said.
Front Office Sports made it clear that Kessler was not defending how Good Good handled the controversy. However, he argued that people should have a chance to learn from their mistakes and seek forgiveness.
“Good people make mistakes, and we have to leave room in society for someone to say, ‘I made a massive mistake. Please forgive me. Here’s what I learned, and it won’t happen again,’” he said.
Kessler also questioned whether someone should lose their job because of a single mistake.
“Should I have lost my job for making a mistake? Like, that’s crazy,” he asked. “If we live in this world where every single time somebody makes a mistake, there’s no chance to learn from it and ask for forgiveness, I don’t know how we’re ever going to raise a society of risk takers.”
However, the two situations were different. Kessler’s decision involved weather conditions at an LPGA event, while the Good Good advertisement drew criticism for its portrayal of violence against women. The LPGA also had no official partnership with Good Good.
Two upcoming events could bring further updates on the fallout from the ad. Callaway is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings on November 11. According to Front Office Sports, the company is expected to face questions about the end of its partnership with Good Good.
The PGA Tour’s Austin Championship, formerly known as the Good Good Championship, is scheduled for November 12–15 at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa. The event has a $6 million prize purse.
As of Front Office Sports‘ October 5 report, the Tour had not announced a replacement title sponsor. However, Rolapp said he was “confident” that one would be found.