Good Good Ad Draws Mixed Reactions From Men and Women

When Good Good Golf released an ad showing co-founder Garrett Clark shoving professional golfer Alexis Miestowski to the ground, the corporate response was swift. Callaway, which had partnered with Good Good on the new driver featured in the ad, ended its three-year relationship and donated $1 million to organizations fighting violence against women. Retailers including Dick's Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Target, and PGA Superstore pulled Good Good merchandise from stores and websites. Good Good also lost its title sponsorship of a planned PGA Tour event in November, and the Golf Channel dropped the 2026 season of the Big Break x Good Good reality series.

Yet a new survey suggests that public opinion is far from unified. Only about one-third of consumers rated the ad as inappropriate, and men and women viewed it very differently.

The Ad and Its Corporate Fallout

The ad, which promoted Good Good's new driver, shows Miestowski reaching for the club when Clark shoves her to the ground. Standing over her, he yells, “Do not touch my new driver.”

Callaway, which had initially approved the ad, later posted on X: “We heard from individuals who shared personal experiences related to violence against women, and their stories were powerful reminders that this issue touches the lives of far too many people. Unequivocally, violence against women is unacceptable and should never be trivialized, normalized, or used as entertainment.” The company added that it had taken “appropriate internal corrective actions to help ensure this does not happen again.”

The Gender Divide in Consumer Reactions

Zappi, a consumer research company, surveyed 150 U.S. consumers who shop for sports and outdoor products. The results, shared with Forbes, revealed a stark split:

• Appropriateness: 53% of men rated the ad as “appropriate,” compared with 35% of women.
• Positive feelings toward Callaway: 63% of men said the ad made them more positive toward the brand, while only 29% of women said the same.
• Negative feelings toward Callaway: 37% of women said their opinion became more negative, nearly three times the 13% of men who said so.

“Nearly two-thirds of men actually felt more positively toward Callaway after seeing the ad, even as women reacted far more negatively,” Nataly Kelly, Zappi's chief marketing officer, said via email. “That's particularly striking when women and girls have driven 60% of the growth in on-course golf participation since 2019. Why would you alienate the audience powering the future of your category?”

Why the Ad Crossed a Line

For those who don't see the problem, it's worth explaining why an ad that makes light of violence against women is harmful.

Impact on Survivors of Violence

Many women have experienced violence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one in five women report being slapped, pushed, or shoved by an intimate partner. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that one in three women worldwide has suffered physical or sexual partner violence or sexual non-partner violence. For these women, seeing a man shove a woman to the ground can trigger memories, fear, and physical reactions. Even cues that vaguely resemble an earlier trauma can provoke distress or a survival response in people with post-traumatic stress disorder, as noted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Physical Differences and Real-World Harm

Men are, on average, bigger and stronger than women, and research on intimate partner violence finds that men are more likely than women to inflict injury on their partners. A man shoving a woman to the ground is not equivalent to a man shoving another man; it carries a different threat and consequence.

The Danger of Sexist Humor

Turning aggression against women into a joke can have broader social effects. Research on sexist humor suggests that jokes about sexism can make prejudice seem more socially acceptable, especially among those who already hold sexist attitudes. In one experiment, men with hostile attitudes toward women who were exposed to sexist jokes were more likely to recommend larger budget cuts to a women's organization. The concern is that treating aggression toward women as funny helps create an environment where violence and sexism are taken less seriously.

Why Representation Matters

The fact that these concerns apparently weren't recognized before the ad was released raises questions about who was involved in its creation and approval. “The bigger problem is why nobody—and no process—involved in creating and approving this ad saw that risk before it went live,” Kelly said.

While we don't know who approved the ad, the gender divide in Zappi's findings suggests that having different perspectives in the room would have helped. More diverse perspectives don't guarantee a brand will avoid a mistake, but they certainly improve the odds.