Good Good Golf CEO Matt Kendrick resigns after furor over Callaway ad

Good Good Golf CEO Matt Kendrick and President Joe Flannery left the company on Wednesday, according to an internal company email shared with CBS News. Their departures follow a backlash over a co-branded Callaway Golf ad that was panned as sexist and trivializing violence against women.

Nahid Giga, a co-founder of Good Good Golf and one of its first investors, will step in as interim CEO effective immediately, according to the Sept. 2 email from Good Good Golf Chief Financial Officer Alex Puchala. 

The management shakeup comes amid widespread public criticism over the ad, which was released online and quickly pulled after viewers objected to its depiction of a male golfer shoving a female golfer to the ground when she tries to use his driver. 

In the aftermath of the controversy, Callaway ended its three-year partnership with the digital media company, and Good Good also said it would step back from sponsoring one of the PGA Tour’s tournaments this fall. 

Good Good has said the ad was supposed to be a parody of the horror movie “Obsession,” but critics failed to see the humor and condemned the video for making light of violence against women. 

Both Good Good and Callaway apologized for the ad. But Kendrick on Aug. 28 posted on social media that Callaway Golf had asked “us to take the fall and then drops us in a coordinated media blitz.”

“This is a difficult day for the entire Good Good family,” Puchala wrote in the email, which was sent to company employees. “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.”

Puchala added that Garrett Clark — a co-founder of Good Good who portrayed the male golfer in the ad — will remain at the firm. 

“Garrett and the creator team will keep doing what they do best, making great content and engaging our fans who are eager to see and hear from us,” Puchala wrote.