In a moment that exposed the gap between stated values and actual choices, golf content brand Good Good published and then swiftly removed an advertisement showing a man pushing a woman to the ground — a scene framed as comedy, received as harm. The incident, which drew condemnation from sponsor Callaway and the PGA Tour alike, raises a question older than any brand: how does an organization that claims to stand for inclusion come to produce something that undermines it, and who, in the chain of decisions, bears responsibility for that failure?
Golf brand Good Good apologizes for ad depicting violence against woman
A woman was depicted being physically pushed to the ground in the advertisement, though no actual injury occurred.
actions that are not aligned with our values as a brand
Mark
Why does a golf advertisement matter enough to warrant statements from the PGA Tour?
Mimi
Because golf has spent decades being seen as exclusive and male-dominated. When a major creator claims to be changing that and then posts content that depicts violence against a woman, it signals something broken in how they're thinking about their responsibility.
Mark
But it was just a skit, right? No one was actually hurt?
Mimi
True, but the harm isn't physical. It's in the message. When you have millions of viewers and you're positioning yourself as making golf more inclusive, then you film a man pushing a woman down as a punchline, you're telling people that inclusivity is performative—something you claim when it's convenient, abandon when it gets a laugh.
Mark
Do you think Good Good knew this would be controversial?
Mimi
That's the question no one's answering. Either they didn't think it through, which suggests carelessness at scale. Or they did think it through and misjudged the moment. Neither is reassuring.
Mark
What happens now?
Mimi
The video is gone. The apologies are out. Good Good still has 2.13 million subscribers and a championship tournament coming in November. The real test is whether this changes how they approach content, or whether it becomes a footnote they move past.
Der Puls
- A golf YouTube channel with over two million followers posted an ad in which a woman was physically pushed to the ground — and played it for laughs.
- Backlash arrived within hours, with viewers pointing out that the content directly contradicted Good Good's long-cultivated image as a welcoming, inclusive space in golf.
- Both Good Good and sponsor Callaway issued apologies and pulled the video, while the PGA Tour — which had planned a tournament with the brand — distanced itself from the content.
- The apologies were swift but thin, offering no account of how the video passed through editing, review, and publication without anyone raising an objection.
- The episode leaves the brand's inclusivity claims under scrutiny, and the silence around internal accountability may prove harder to remove than the video itself.
In a moment that exposed the gap between stated values and actual choices, golf content brand Good Good published and then swiftly removed an advertisement showing a man pushing a woman to the ground — a scene framed as comedy, received as harm. The incident, which drew condemnation from sponsor Callaway and the PGA Tour alike, raises a question older than any brand: how does an organization that claims to stand for inclusion come to produce something that undermines it, and who, in the chain of decisions, bears responsibility for that failure?
Good Good, the YouTube golf channel that built a following of more than two million subscribers by making the sport feel accessible and fun, posted an advertisement this week showing co-founder Garrett Clark pushing professional golfer Alexis Miestowski to the ground as she reached for his new driver. The video was made for Callaway to promote the club. Within hours, the backlash was substantial.
Critics noted that the content treated violence against a woman as a punchline — a jarring contradiction for a brand that had positioned itself as a force for inclusivity in a traditionally male-dominated sport. Good Good had built much of its appeal on content featuring men and women competing together. This felt like a betrayal of that identity.
Good Good apologized on X, acknowledged the video was out of step with its values, and removed it. Callaway expressed disappointment but credited the swift response. The PGA Tour, which had announced plans for an inaugural Good Good Championship in Texas this November, issued a careful statement affirming its commitment to respect and noting the video had already been taken down.
What the apologies did not address was the process — how a scene of a man pushing a woman to the ground was filmed, edited, approved, and published by a sophisticated media operation without apparent objection at any stage. The statements reaffirmed values without examining how those values had been set aside, leaving the more difficult question unanswered: not whether the brand believes in inclusion, but whether its internal culture is built to protect it.
Good Good, the YouTube golf channel with more than two million subscribers, posted a video advertisement this week that showed co-founder Garrett Clark pushing professional golfer Alexis Miestowski to the ground. The moment came as she reached for his new golf driver. He shouted at her not to touch it. The video was made for Callaway, the golf club manufacturer, to promote the driver. Within hours, the backlash arrived.
The advert drew criticism for depicting violence against a woman in a way that seemed to treat the moment as comedic. Viewers and commentators pointed out that the content contradicted what Good Good had long claimed to stand for: making golf more welcoming and inclusive to everyone. The channel, which launched in 2020, had built its audience partly on the appeal of featuring both men and women competing together in golf challenges and stunts. This video felt like a departure from that mission.
Good Good responded quickly. The company posted an apology on X, acknowledging that the video showed "actions that are not aligned with our values as a brand." They removed the content from their channels. In the statement, they reaffirmed their commitment to inclusivity in golf and said they would ensure that principle guided them going forward. The tone was contrite but brief—no extended explanation, no detailed accounting of how the decision to create and publish the video had been made in the first place.
Callaway, which has partnered with Good Good since 2023, also issued a statement. The company said it was disappointed by the content and appreciated Good Good's swift response. Like Good Good, Callaway emphasized its commitment to creating an inclusive space in golf. The language was measured and corporate, the kind of statement issued when a brand needs to distance itself from something without appearing to wage war on a partner.
The PGA Tour, which has been deepening its ties to social media creators and had announced plans to stage the inaugural Good Good Championship in Texas this November, also weighed in. A spokesperson said the tour does not condone violence in any form and that the deleted video did not reflect its values or commitment to inclusivity and respect. The statement was careful to note that the video had already been removed, as if to suggest the matter was being handled appropriately.
What remains unclear is how the video came to exist in the first place. Good Good is a sophisticated media operation that produces made-for-TV shows, merchandise advertisements, and sponsored content. The decision to film a scene of a man pushing a woman to the ground, to edit it, to review it, and to publish it—all of that involved multiple people and multiple steps. Yet the apologies offered no insight into where the judgment failed or what would change to prevent similar missteps. The focus was on the removal and the reaffirmation of values, not on understanding how those values had been temporarily abandoned.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
We posted a video that ultimately depicted actions that are not aligned with our values as a brand— Good Good, in statement on X
We do not condone violence in any form, and the since-deleted video does not reflect our values or commitment to inclusivity and respect— PGA Tour spokesperson
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