LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler called the controversy surrounding a viral Good Good Golf ad “heartbreaking.”
The controversy was one of the biggest stories in the golf world late this summer after the well-known content creator brand received blowback over a promo that featured co-founder Garrett Clark pushing fellow Good Good member Alexis Miestowski, in what was an attempt to spoof a scene from the horror movie “Obsession.”
The ad led to people criticizing the brand for endorsing violence against women.
While Kessler criticized the decision-making behind the ad, the LPGA commissioner did offer some grace while speaking at the Front Office Sports’ “Tuned In” summit.
“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,” he said Tuesday.
But, he added, “Good people make mistakes.”
“We have to leave room in society to say, ‘I made a massive mistake; please forgive me. Here’s what I learned, and it won’t happen again,’” Kessler continued.
The LPGA commissioner shared how he had to ask for forgiveness in February from his team after he overruled some in the decision to cancel the final round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Fla., due to freezing temperatures.
“Should I have lost my job for making a mistake? That’s crazy,” He said. “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.
“Brutal that it happened. Awful, my heart goes out to anybody who was affected, and I think a lot of lessons were learned.”
Good Good saw major retailers pull its merchandise from the shelves in the wake of the controversy and Callaway ended a longstanding partnership. The brand also pulled out of being a title sponsor for an PGA Tour event in Austin, Texas, next month.
However, their content hasn’t seemed to suffer much viewership loss, according to FOS, which reported that since the controversy, videos posted to Good Good’s YouTube channel have averaged just under 1 million views — in line with its normal viewership.
