"Co-ordinated media blitz" - Good Good CEO blasts Callaway over $1m "cover-up"

The chief executive of Good Good appeared to suggest the content creator could sue Callaway after the equipment manufacturer dropped the brand in what he described as a "co-ordinated media blitz".

Callaway made the decision to drop Good Good with immediate effect following backlash over an advertisement which showed a woman being pushed to the ground after reaching for a club.

The clip, which was intended to be a parody of the horror movie Obsession, was released on 21 August but was deleted almost immediately after it received criticism for trivialising violence against women. It remains in circulation on Facebook and X.

Callaway and Good Good apologised but the backlash only intensified, with the PGA Tour urged to drop the popular YouTube sports channel as the title sponsor of one of their tournaments in November.

On Thursday evening, the PGA Tour announced Good Good would be stepping away from its sponsorship. The Golf Channel also decided to cancel the revamped Big Break x Good Good reboot.

The news came hours after Callaway confirmed they would be ending its association with Good Good and donating $1m (£735,725) to organisations working to prevent violence against women and support victims.

Good Good CEO Matt Kendrick blasted Callaway on X on Friday morning, accusing the equipment manufacturer of dropping the brand in a "co-ordinated media blitz".

Kendrick claimed Callaway's $1m donation was merely a "cover up" and replied to an X user saying that he "wasn't opposed" to suing Callaway.

"Interesting that Callaway Golf asks us to make an ad then approves it then asks us to take the fall then drops us in a coordinated media blitz and covers it up by giving a million dollars away thinking everyone will be ok with it," he wrote. "30 for 39 will be legendary."

Callaway are yet to comment on Kendrick's claims.

It comes as LPGA Tour Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam came to Callaway's defence.

The ten-time major champion posted a lengthy statement of her own on Instagram.

"For over 30 years, I have been a proud partner of Callaway," the 72-time LPGA Tour winner posted.

"More importantly, for over 20 years they have supported my work with the ANNIKA Foundation, which aims to empower and advance young women through golf and in life."

Sörenstam described the advert as "terrible", but praised Callaway for acknowledging what had happened and taking action.

"They have acknowledged that, apologised, and taken significant action to address it," she added.

"I can say unequivocally that the ad does not reflect the values of Callaway or their CEO, Chip Brewer."

The Swedish icon also highlighted Callaway's longstanding support for women's golf.

"Callaway is and has always been one of the strongest supporters of women’s golf on the LPGA and amateur level."

The controversy began with a promotional video released on Aug. 21 to advertise a new Callaway driver made in collaboration with Good Good Golf.

The advert showed Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark shoving fellow creator Alexis Miestowski to the ground after she reached for his driver.

The video was intended as a spoof of the horror film Obsession, but it quickly drew widespread criticism for appearing to trivialise violence against women.

Good Good and Callaway released statements a short while later to apologise.

But their apologies were viewed as weak by many and Callaway's CEO, Chip Brewer, then released a statement of his own.

Brewer acknowledged that the ad was made with Callaway's approval and said the company would make changes to its processes.

The PGA Tour's chief executive, Brian Rolapp, was also asked about the situation during a news conference before the season finale at East Lake.

The inaugural Good Good Championship was scheduled to take place at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas, from 12-15 November.

Rolapp said he didn't like what he saw and stated, rather ominously, that their relationship with Good Good was "fluid".

The PGA Tour confirmed on Thursday evening that Good Good was stepping away as the title sponsor.