Good Good, Callaway Face Questions After Deleted Driver Ad

This past weekend brought a much less comfortable example of what can happen when those worlds converge.

Good Good and Callaway removed a promotional video for their co-branded Quantum driver after it drew widespread criticism over a staged scene involving Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark and Alexis Miestowski, a former Division I golfer and Good Good personality.

In the scene, Miestowski reaches toward the driver in Clark’s golf bag. Clark rushes toward her, knocks her to the ground and then stands over her before saying, “Do not touch my new driver.”

The concept was fictional promotional content, not footage of an actual confrontation between Clark and Miestowski. Its presentation appeared designed to exaggerate Clark’s protectiveness of the new club.

That distinction explains the setting. It did not prevent the imagery from landing badly with a significant number of viewers.

Criticism spread quickly, particularly over using a man knocking a woman to the ground as part of an advertising joke. The video was removed, although copies continued circulating online.

Good Good apologized Saturday, saying the content depicted actions inconsistent with its values and reiterating its stated goal of making golf inclusive.

Then the story became bigger than the video itself.

Good Good x Callaway How a Driver Ad Became a Golf Industry Story A scripted joke lasted only seconds. The reaction quickly expanded to include Good Good, Callaway and the PGA Tour. 01 | The Video A scripted physical gag Garrett Clark rushes toward Alexis Miestowski and knocks her to the ground after she reaches toward the Good Good edition of Callaway’s Quantum driver. 02 | The Backlash The imagery became the issue Critics objected to using a man knocking a woman down as the payoff to an equipment advertisement, even though the scene was staged. 03 | Good Good Video removed, apology issued Good Good said the actions depicted did not align with its values and reiterated its commitment to making golf inclusive. 04 | Callaway Approval acknowledged CEO Chip Brewer said Callaway approved the ad before publication and that internal and external reviews are underway. Why It Grew Once Callaway acknowledged approving the campaign, the story shifted from one creator’s content decision to a larger question about corporate oversight and shared responsibility.

Callaway’s Approval Changes the Conversation

Callaway initially responded by saying it was disappointed by the content and appreciated Good Good addressing the matter.

On Tuesday, Callaway CEO Chip Brewer went considerably further.

Brewer acknowledged that while Good Good produced the advertisement, Callaway approved it before publication.

“That approval should never have happened,” Brewer said.

Callaway said internal and external investigations are underway and that changes have already been made to its content-approval process. Brewer also said the advertisement did not reflect Callaway’s values and reiterated the company’s opposition to discrimination, domestic violence and threatening behavior.

That acknowledgment changes the simplest interpretation of what happened.

This was not merely a creator publishing something while an unsuspecting corporate partner watched from a distance. Whatever the exact internal approval process looked like, the content passed through both sides of a significant commercial relationship before reaching the public.

That creates a broader question than whether the concept was funny, offensive or simply poorly executed.

It raises questions about how creator-led campaigns are conceived, reviewed and approved once independent media brands begin operating alongside companies with established corporate marketing systems.

Good Good’s appeal has always been partially rooted in not feeling like conventional golf marketing. The looseness, personality and willingness to experiment that helped creator golf grow are features, not accidental byproducts.

Major brands want access to precisely that authenticity.

The challenge is figuring out how much corporate oversight can be added without sanding away the qualities that made the creators valuable in the first place.

This time, by Callaway’s own admission, the system failed.

From Creator Brand to Golf Institution Good Good Is Operating on a Different Scale What started on YouTube now reaches equipment, entertainment and an official PGA Tour tournament. 2M+ YouTube Subscribers Good Good’s primary channel has built an audience larger than many traditional golf-media platforms. NOV. 12-15 PGA Tour Event The inaugural Good Good Championship is scheduled for Austin, Texas, as part of the FedExCup Fall. $6M Tournament Purse The Good Good name is now attached to an official PGA Tour event carrying significant competitive stakes. That growth is what makes this controversy different from a questionable joke posted by an independent YouTube channel.

Why the PGA Tour Is Part of the Story

There is another relationship that gives this controversy considerably more weight.

Good Good is the title sponsor of the inaugural Good Good Championship, scheduled for Nov. 12-15 at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa’s Fazio Canyons Course in Austin, Texas.

The tournament carries a $6 million purse and is part of the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Fall schedule.

When the event was announced, the partnership represented something significant.

A company born from YouTube golf was no longer simply covering professional golf, collaborating with tour players or producing entertainment around PGA Tour events. Its name was being placed on an official Tour tournament.

That remains one of the clearest illustrations of how much golf’s media and marketing ecosystem has changed.

The PGA Tour responded to the advertisement by saying it does not condone violence and that the deleted video did not reflect its commitment to inclusivity and respect.

As of Tuesday morning, Aug. 25, the Good Good Championship remained on the PGA Tour’s official schedule.

There have been public calls for stronger consequences. Others have argued that acknowledging the mistake, improving safeguards and judging what happens next is a more productive response than allowing one advertisement to define an entire brand.

Those decisions belong to the organizations involved.

The underlying reality is easier to identify.

Good Good now operates in a world where the consequences of what it publishes extend well beyond its own social channels.

The Central Tension Creator Freedom Meets Institutional Responsibility Good Good became valuable because it felt different from traditional golf media. Greater influence now means operating alongside organizations with very different levels of oversight. What Creator Golf Brings Authenticity
Content that feels less manufactured and more personal. Creative freedom
Permission to experiment beyond traditional golf-media formulas. Younger audiences
An ability to connect with golfers who may never enter through traditional media. What Institutional Scale Brings Brand standards
Content represents more than the creator who appears in it. Approval systems
More people have a role in deciding what reaches the public. Greater consequences
A controversial post can affect equipment partners, sponsors and Tour relationships. The Challenge Preserve what makes creator golf different without pretending greater influence does not bring greater accountability.

Liking Good Good Doesn’t Mean Every Idea Works

For years, “traditional golf media” and “creator golf” were discussed almost as separate industries.

They increasingly are not.

Creators appear on television. Equipment manufacturers design products with them. Professional tours build events and programming around them. Traditional outlets cover their competitions. Their audiences overlap with the same golfers brands and governing bodies have spent decades trying to reach.

Good Good is among the clearest examples of that convergence.

I have been pretty open about the fact that I like the Good Good guys and what they have brought to golf.

They helped make the game feel accessible, fun and considerably less buttoned-up for an audience traditional golf media sometimes struggled to reach. They have created another doorway into golf, particularly for younger players and fans, and that matters.

One poorly received advertisement does not erase years of creativity or the role Good Good has played in broadening golf’s audience.

At the same time, liking what Good Good has built does not require pretending every idea works.

This one did not, at least not for me.

The scene was scripted. It was exaggerated. There is no suggestion viewers were watching an actual confrontation between Clark and Miestowski.

Still, using the visual of a man knocking a woman to the ground as the payoff to an equipment advertisement struck me as unnecessary and simply not in particularly good taste.

That does not require turning Clark, Good Good or Callaway into villains.

Sometimes a creative idea sounds workable in a room, survives production and looks very different once millions of people encounter it without the benefit of that room’s context.

Brewer’s acknowledgment that Callaway approved the advertisement is important for precisely that reason. This wasn’t an impulsive social-media post that escaped before anyone could intervene. Multiple people had an opportunity to assess the concept before it reached the public.

There is also danger in allowing one controversy to become a referendum on everything Good Good represents.

More than 2 million people subscribe to its primary YouTube channel. Its influence stretches across social media, merchandise, golf equipment, live events and entertainment. Its relationship with the PGA Tour demonstrates how far creator golf has moved toward the center of the industry.

None of that disappears because an advertisement missed the mark.

Neither should the advertisement be dismissed simply because those involved intended it as comedy.

Those ideas can coexist.

Good Good can remain one of golf’s most important and entertaining creator brands while acknowledging this particular piece of content was a mistake. Callaway can remain a valuable partner while accepting responsibility for its approval process. The PGA Tour can recognize Good Good’s ability to reach a different golf audience while making clear that the advertisement did not reflect its standards.

That is a considerably more useful conversation than deciding which “side” everyone is supposed to choose.

Creator golf has spent years proving it belongs at the table with golf’s established institutions.

This episode is a reminder that once it gets there, some of the responsibilities around that table come with it.

PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on R.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.