A lot happened in the golf world Tuesday, just hours before the premiere of Big Break x Good Good, the reboot of the popular golf reality series, returning after an 11-year hiatus. Golf fans who had been looking forward to its comeback after more than a decade were left heartbroken.

Good Good, the YouTube golf brand that partnered with Golf Channel for the Big Break reboot, released an ad last Friday promoting a new Callaway driver, helping set the stage for the highly anticipated premiere. But soon enough, known entities such as Under The Desk News host Vitus “V” Spehar were calling it ‘tone deaf’.

Reports claimed that the ad depicted violence against women, drawing widespread criticism online. The backlash grew to the point that both Good Good and Callaway deleted the ad from their official social media accounts. Then, on Tuesday evening, Golf Channel released an official statement announcing that the premiere had been postponed to Sept. 1. But that wasn’t the only development that day.

Another major update came directly from Callaway’s leadership, who had to acknowledge the widespread criticism.

Callaway CEO announces investigation into ad approval 

On Aug. 25, Callaway CEO Chip Brewer released an official statement on social media addressing the controversy. Brewer confirmed that the ad had been “approved by Callaway prior to posting.” That acknowledgment meant the company could not simply distance itself from what had happened.

Instead, Brewer accepted responsibility and clarified the company’s position.

“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,” Brewer said.

Acknowledging the mistake was not the end of Callaway’s response. Brewer also confirmed that the company had launched investigations into the matter.

“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,” he said.

Interestingly, even the comments on Callawaygolf’s Instagram post were skeptical, with fans believing that the statement ‘doesn’t fix anything’ alongside many asking questions around the initial approval.

But that still leaves another important question: What did Good Good Golf have to say about the controversy?

Good Good Golf’s statement faces backlash 

Good Good Golf played a major role in creating the ad. The video featured Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark alongside fellow Good Good talent Alexis Miestowski. Then, on Aug. 22, Good Good Golf’s official social media accounts released a statement addressing the controversy.

In the statement, the company acknowledged that the ‘depicted actions are not aligned with the brand’s values.’ It also reaffirmed its commitment to keeping golf inclusive as part of its mission moving forward. However, that response wasn’t enough for everyone. At least, Nicola Rae didn’t think so.

On X, Rae, the senior director of social media at Skratch, an account focused on golf and culture, strongly criticized Good Good’s statement.

“They so don’t get the point. They didn’t just create an ad that makes golf non-inclusive to women, but it endorses violence against women in the scariest and most threatening way. This is a horrible look for them and for Callaway. Wildly disappointing,” she said via her X account on August 22.

The backlash didn’t stop at criticism. Good Good Golf also faced consequences that could directly affect its business. 

Golf Galaxy and Dick’s Sporting Goods’ tough call 

James Corrigan, the Daily Telegraph’s golf correspondent, reported that the PGA Tour is under significant pressure to drop Good Good as a title sponsor.

For those unfamiliar with the brand, Good Good Golf is also the title sponsor of the PGA Tour’s upcoming Good Good Championship, scheduled for Nov. 12-15 at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas. We’ll come back to that shortly. But first, another post on X from NUCLR GOLF added another layer to the story.

“JUST IN — Golf Galaxy & Dicks Sporting Goods have now removed all Good Good products, golf equipment and apparel from their online stores as the fallout from the driver video continues,” the social media account posted on Tuesday.

A screenshot attached to the post appeared to show that Good Good products were no longer available on Golf Galaxy’s website. If confirmed, that would be a major blow for Good Good Golf.

Adding to the uncertainty, multiple reports have claimed that Golf Galaxy may have requested that its branding be removed from the Big Break reboot. Golf Channel’s official announcement said that one of the show’s sponsors had objected, but it did not identify the sponsor.

So, plenty of questions remain unanswered. And amid all the uncertainty, the PGA Tour CEO’s comments can’t be overlooked.

PGA Tour CEO keeps multiple sides open

Earlier, we mentioned the Good Good Championship. Naturally, the controversy raises an important question: What happens to the tournament now? Has the PGA Tour made a decision?

There has been a response, but Tour CEO Brian Rolapp made it clear that he wasn’t satisfied with how Good Good initially handled the situation.

During his press conference Tuesday morning, Rolapp was asked whether he believed Good Good had taken enough accountability for its mistake. His response was mixed.

“I think what we saw was concerning, is clearly not aligned with PGA Tour values. We take it very seriously. I think their initial response was disappointing. It was a bit defensive and late. But I think the responses are getting better. I think we’ve seen some things this morning, we’ve had some conversations with them, so we’ll continue to monitor and work with them going forward. But no, we were disappointed with what we saw,” he said to the press.

With the controversy continuing to unfold, more developments could follow in the coming days. For now, the future of Good Good’s partnerships remains one of the biggest questions surrounding the story.