Good Good Golf CEO resigns after furor over Callaway ad
The top two executives at digital marketing company Good Good Golf are leaving after a controversial ad was panned as sexist.
Good Good Golf CEO Matt Kendrick and President Joe Flannery resigned on Wednesday following a backlash over a co-branded Callaway Golf ad deemed sexist and trivializing violence against women. Nahid Giga, co-founder and first investor, became interim CEO immediately, per a Sept. 2 email from CFO Alex Puchala. The management upheaval occurred amidst widespread public criticism of the ad, which featured a male golfer shoving a female golfer to the ground when she attempted to use his driver.
Callaway terminated its three-year partnership with the digital media company, and Good Good announced it would cease sponsoring a PGA Tour event later that fall. The ad, intended as a parody of the horror film "Obsession," failed to elicit laughter and was condemned for belittling violence against women. Both companies issued apologies, but Kendrick claimed Callaway demanded the blame be shouldered and then abandoned them with a coordinated media campaign.
Kendrick's statement on August 28 highlighted the emotional toll on the "Good Good" team, noting that the company had evolved from a small group of friends to a thriving global community. Garret Clark, another co-founder who played the male golfer in the ad, will continue working at Good Good.
Written by urgent.news from CBS News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
