The controversy over an ill-received advertisement promoting a new golf club cost two top Good Good Golf executives their jobs on Wednesday.
The company parted ways with chief executive officer Matt Kendrick and president Joe Flannery, Good Good head of finance and operations Alex Puchala announced.
Puchala’s memo to the company’s staff included, “This is a difficult day for the entire Good Good family. Matt helped build something extraordinary that exceeded all expectations and continues to bring countless new fans to the sport. What began as a small group of friends playing golf is now a growing global community.”
Nahid Giga, a board member and investor in Good Good, was installed as the interim CEO of the company that began in 2020 as a YouTube channel and rapidly gained popularity as a mainstream golf and lifestyle brand.
Good Good vice president of brand and marketing Jeffrey Lefkovits was fired earlier this week.
Good Good’s troubles began on Aug. 21 with the release of an ad for a driver co-branded with Callaway. The video showed Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark pushing another Good Good personality, Alexis Miestowski, to the ground as she went to pull the club out of his bag. Clark then said, “Do not touch my new driver,” while standing over her.
A swift public backlash, decrying an act of violence against a woman, led to multiple apologies from Callaway and Good Good. Callaway severed its ties with Good Good, which prompted Kendrick to criticize Callaway on social media.
The fallout also led to Good Good no longer serving as the title sponsor of the PGA Tour event scheduled for mid-November in Austin, Texas. Golf Channel canceled a reboot of the “Big Break” show that was to be produced in conjunction with Good Good. Meanwhile, Good Good products were pulled from the shelves of retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy.
Puchala’s memo added, “We’re encouraged by the continued support of the Good Good community, and we remain focused on moving forward and building the next chapter of the company.”