Good Good Golf is facing another leadership change following the fallout from its controversial Callaway driver advertisement. CEO Matt Kendrick has stepped down from the company, while president Joe Flannery has also departed, according to an internal memo first reported by Business Insider and confirmed by a source briefed on the matter to The Athletic.
Nahid Giga, a Good Good co-founder, early investor and current board member, will serve as interim CEO. The leadership changes come less than two weeks after the company pulled the advertisement featuring co-founder Garrett Clark shoving Good Good member Alexis Miestowski to the ground and subsequently lost its partnership with Callaway.
Matt Kendrick Exits Good Good Golf
Good Good employees were informed on Wednesday that Kendrick had stepped down as CEO and Flannery had chosen to leave the company. The internal announcement was signed by Alex Puchala, who will remain COO and CFO and oversee day-to-day operations.
“Effective today, Matt has decided to step down as CEO of Good Good and Joe has chosen to part ways as well,” Puchala wrote in the memo.
“To ensure stability through this transition, Nahid Giga, Good Good co-founder and one of our first investors, will step in as interim CEO, effective immediately.”
Kendrick had served as CEO since September 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile. Flannery had only recently joined Good Good after leading Travis Mathew and serving as chief marketing officer at The North Face.
The leadership change follows Kendrick’s public criticism of Callaway over the advertisement. He wrote on X at 3:38 a.m. Friday:
“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. 30 for 39 will be legendary.”
Kendrick later told Front Office Sports that he had not seen the advertisement before it was published. He said Good Good’s marketing team handled the post and that he was not responsible for approving every social media post.
“Our marketing team saw it. Callaway said they approved it, and that went through their marketing team, as well. So, both sides saw it,” Kendrick told Front Office Sports.
“I don’t approve every social post that goes up—that doesn’t come across my desk.”
Good Good Golf Faces Continued Fallout From Callaway Ad
The controversy began August 21 when Good Good published the Callaway driver advertisement on social media. Clark appeared to shove Miestowski to the ground as she attempted to touch the driver before saying, “Do not touch my new driver.”
Good Good removed the advertisement after the backlash and apologized the following day. Callaway later ended its partnership with the company.
The fallout also affected Good Good’s other business relationships. Its merchandise was pulled from Golf Galaxy/Dick’s Sporting Goods, PGA Tour Superstore and Target, while Good Good withdrew from sponsoring a PGA Tour event scheduled for November in Texas. The event will continue as the Austin Championship.
Golf Channel also postponed its competition reality show with Good Good until 2027.
Kendrick previously said Good Good had removed the people responsible for the advertisement. He also told Front Office Sports that the company had fired its marketing department involved with the campaign.
“I think the biggest thing is we realized we have to put better processes in place and we’re doing that,” Kendrick said. “We’re looking at the right people in the right places as well.”
Despite the leadership changes, Good Good said the company continues to see online retail growth and investor support. The company raised a $45 million funding round last year led by Creator Sports Capital, with participation from Manhattan West Private Equity, Sunflower Bank and Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions.
Giga will now oversee Good Good as interim CEO while Puchala remains in charge of day-to-day operations.
Good Good Golf CEO Exits After Publicly Blaming Callaway for Ad