By Fred Altvater
Good Good Golf has been one of the internet’s biggest success stories. Their website provides golfers, especially younger golfers, golf products, video content and host golf tournaments around the country.
The team at Good Good Golf, in conjunction with Callaway, produced a new television advertisement promoting Callaway’s newest driver. A huge problem with the advertisement came when a woman golfer tried to reach into her playing companion’s golf bag to test the new driver and the owner, a man, ran over and pushed the woman to the ground. While standing over her prone body the man further extolled the woman to never touch his new club. Definitely not a good look given today’s political climate.
Even though the ad was pulled from the television rotation, it can be viewed HERE on YouTube.
Put video pic HERE
The CEO of Callaway, Chip Brewer posted the following apology on Facebook.
At a time when the fastest growing segment of the golfing public is women, the advertisement sends the wrong message and was quickly banned.
Callaway has announced that it has cut all ties with Good Good, plus Golf Galaxy, Dick’s and Golf Galaxy have pulled their merchandise from their shelves.
The problem arose from the fact that Good Good thought it would be funny to push a woman to the ground. The marketing team at Callaway, who approved the advertisement, is guilty as it should have never been approved for release.
Callaway recently divested itself from the TopGolf franchise and realized a big upturn in their share price. The advertisement immediately had a negative effect on the stock market, but their share price has rebounded somewhat.
In the apology, Brewer admits Callaway’s error in the approval process and in a subsequent post announced changes to their marketing team.
Every woman golfer I have talked with abhors the advertisement and the message that was sent. My parents went to great lengths to stress that men were to never be abusive to a woman, in any manner.
The American public and golfers can’t seem to get enough of video content, but sometimes the creators don’t read the room before they begin filming.
The advertisement sent the wrong message and was summarily dismissed, but the damage was done.
Over the past five years, female participation in golf rose by 45%, adding 2.5 million women golfers. Women and girls account up to 60% of participation gains in traditional green-grass golf, since COVID.
These women and young ladies pay for green fees, buy golf clubs, as well as apparel, shoes and other golf products, which has given a huge boost to large golf retailers such as; Callaway, Titleist, PING and TaylorMade.
In a sport that has worked hard to attract women to golf courses and then keep them coming back, we hope everyone learned a lesson from this huge error in judgement.
