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LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler called the now-infamous Good Good Golf–Callaway driver ad a “brutal” and “heartbreaking” situation, but said people should still be able to seek forgiveness for making mistakes.
“In many ways, heartbreaking,” Kessler said when asked about the topic during the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit Tuesday. “The fact that someone thought that was a good idea, and it came to life, just shows you that while society has made enormous progress, we have a very, very long way to go.”
Good Good has been trying to get back to business as usual, nearly two months removed from losing its partnership with Callaway, dropping its sponsorship of a new PGA Tour event, having its merchandise pulled from many stores, and seeing its reality TV competition series on Golf Channel get cancelled.
The LPGA did not have any official partnership with Good Good. And while not defending Good Good’s handling of the situation, Kessler said, “Good people make mistakes, and we have to leave room in society for someone to say, ‘I made a massive mistake. Please forgive me. Here’s what I learned, and it won’t happen again.’”
Kessler brought up a controversy of his own from back in February when he ultimately issued a public apology for his decision to cancel the final round of the LPGA’s season-opening tournament amid freezing temperatures in Florida.
“I got vilified for making that call,” Kessler said. “I mean, vilified. My kids came home from elementary school, and they’re like, ‘Dad, my friend Googled you, and it seems like you suck at your job.’” Kessler said his biggest regret was overruling several of his team members in making the decision.
“They were right, and I was wrong,” Kessler said. “Should I have lost my job for making a mistake? Like, that’s crazy. If we live in this world where every single time somebody makes a mistake, there’s no chance to learn from it and ask for forgiveness, I don’t know how we’re ever going to raise a society of risk takers.”
Ultimately, Kessler said of the Good Good situation, “Brutal that it happened—awful—my heart goes out to anybody who was affected, and I think a lot of lessons were learned.”
LPGA’s Executive Movement
Last month, Chad Coleman stepped down as the LPGA’s chief marketing officer just eight months after taking the job. He was previously the CEO of Dude Perfect, and a widely praised hire—one of the first of Kessler’s tenure that only began in May 2025.
“I have a lot of love and respect for Chad,” Kessler said Tuesday. “He’s a wonderful husband, father of two beautiful girls, and wherever Chad ends up next, that organization will be lucky to have him.” Coleman has signaled that he has another job lined up but has not publicly announced his next move.
Kessler added that beyond Coleman’s departure, several other recent hires “have absolutely changed the trajectory of the LPGA,” like VP of strategy Aliea Clark, chief sales and partnerships officer Monica Fee (a former LIV Golf executive), and chief administrative officer Casey Daniel.
