Good Good CEO Says He Didn’t See Controversial Ad Before it Aired

Good Good Golf CEO Matt Kendrick appeared to speak publicly for the first time since Monday amid the ongoing fallout related to a promotional video the company posted for its co-branded driver with Callaway.

“Interesting that @CallawayGolf 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,” Kendrick wrote in a post to his personal X/Twitter account just before 4 a.m. ET. “30 for 39 will be legendary,” he added, appearing to allude to ESPN’s investigative series, 30 for 30.

The post has been viewed nearly 4.5 million times in less than seven hours, underscoring how the saga has become a topic of fixation far beyond the golf world. Kendrick also responded to a series of posts by other users, including Barstool Sports personality Dan “Big Cat” Katz. In one since-deleted reply, Kendrick said he was “not opposed” to suing Callaway.

Front Office Sports spoke with Kendrick Friday morning about the ongoing developments for Good Good.

Front Office Sports: What are the next steps related to the split from Callaway?

Kendrick: They severed ties with us. We completely understand that position and this is a situation no one wants to be in. And we apologize to everyone for being in this position, and I apologize to Callaway that all of us are here. I understand everyone’s position and I get it. We loved being with Callaway for a long time. They were nothing but great to us the entire time we were together. I just hate that this is how it ended. 

FOS: Can you take me behind the scenes of the decision-making once the ad was pulled? 


Kendrick: We took the ad down and we got together and talked through a response and I said, “I want to do what’s right by everybody, and we will cooperate however we need to.” So, we worked together with Callaway on that, and the response was something that we did together. 

FOS: Was there disagreement on whether Callaway would take the blame for it since or were they asking Good Good to get Callaway out of it in any way?

Kendrick: I would never say it that way. I came out and said, “Hand up. We want to make sure that we take responsibility for what we did.” And we did make the ad. We apologize for how bad the ad was. And I think at the end of the day, we wanted to make sure that everyone knew that we understood that we made a mistake, and we weren’t going to deny that. That’s what we wanted to have portrayed. 

FOS: Did you see the ad before it was released?

Kendrick: No, I did not see the ad before it was released. 

FOS: Who on your team approved it? 

Kendrick: Our marketing team saw it. Callaway said they approved it, and that went through their marketing team, as well. So, both sides saw it. I don’t approve every social post that goes up—that doesn’t come across my desk. Just like it wouldn’t go across (Callaway CEO) Chip Brewer’s desk. 

FOS: Has anyone from the marketing team that created and approved the ad been punished in any way?

Kendrick: We removed people responsible for the ad.

FOS: What was your initial thought when you did finally see the ad?

Kendrick: I was actually out of town, so I wasn’t in office when it came out. I didn’t see it initially when it went up, either. But my team informed me that they had pulled it down and then I saw it. And after I saw it, I was like, ‘this isn’t acceptable.’ I never saw before it went up—I’m just not monitoring all the time. But my team informed me what was going on and then I saw it and I said I understand why we’re pulling this down. 

FOS: Has anybody told you that they tried to express concern to the marketing team about the ad before it went out? 


Kendrick: I don’t have an answer for that. I haven’t gone through that part. 


FOS: What is the status of Good Good’s relationship with the PGA Tour after pulling out of sponsoring the Good Good Championship?

Kendrick: The way that they handled things with us, and the communication I had with them was first class, and I appreciate everything about what the PGA Tour has done with us, and I hope one day we can work together again. I have nothing but good things to say about them.

FOS: Golf Channel canceled the upcoming Big Break x Good Good TV show. What has your communication been like with Golf Channel over this past week? 

Kendrick: They’ve been great partners with us since Day 1, and even through this have been unbelievable. I think (Golf Channel executives) Tom Knapp and Glenn Grimshaw are stand-up individuals, and I’m glad I can call them my friend. I appreciate everything they’ve done for us. 

FOS: Why did you bring Twitter back today? 


Kendrick: It’s just been tough with everything I’ve seen from what’s come towards my family and things like that, and the frustration, it’s just tough. You don’t like being kicked when you’re down. It’s definitely reactionary, but it comes from a place of just not liking what’s coming from this to us personally. It’s been tough. The company is one thing, but family is a whole nother thing. 


FOS: Good Good cofounder Garrett Clark mentioned some of those negative social media comments in his Wednesday night video. Are you pleased with how he addressed things in that video and how he’s been handling things this week? 

Kendrick: I think what Garrett did in that video was very genuine, that’s who he is. I’ve known Garrett for a long time, and I think he’s a great individual, and I love how he handled it and how he’s done it this whole time. I have nothing but respect for Garrett. 


FOS: Have you spoken to Alexis Miestowski (who was shown being shoved to the ground in the ad) this week and how is she handling everything?

Kendrick: I have and she has had a tough week with some of the things Garrett mentioned in the video. 

FOS: What are the next steps for Good Good? 

Kendrick: We want to get back to what we do on a normal basis of making fun and engaging content that people love to watch in the golf space. I don’t want this cloud to hang over us forever, and I think that we want to learn how to be better, and make sure that this never happens again, and be able to work with with partners down the road in a great way and know that we’ve seen all angles of this, but we know that this this will be better. 


FOS: Have Good Good’s investors been supportive through this situation? 


Kendrick: Oh yeah, they’ve been extremely supportive. They’ve been in the war room with us through this process every day—trying to work through how do we handle this situation? And they’ve been great partners. 
And I extremely respect who they are and what they’ve done for us. 

FOS: Callaway is donating $1 million to organizations working to prevent violence against women. Is Good Good doing anything similar?

Kendrick: Yes, we have already come out and said we’re giving the proceeds of the driver away to a local organization. 

FOS: In a Tweet today you said you’re “not opposed” to suing Callaway. Is legal action under consideration?

Kendrick: No, we’re not thinking about that. It was just off the cuff responding to a comment. 


FOS: How much longer was the Good Good-Callaway partnership?

Kendrick: Our deal was up at the end of this year. 

FOS: Were there talks about an extension before this? 


Kendrick: Yeah, we were in talks about extending it. 

FOS: What are the biggest lessons learned from this past week?

Kendrick: I think the biggest thing is we realized we have to put better processes in place and we’re doing that. We’re looking at the right people in the right places as well. So, I think it gave us a good opportunity to really reflect on what all it is that we need to do inside of our organization to be successful for the long run. And I think we’re making the right steps to do that.