The viral ad shows a male golfer pushing a female golfer to the ground. Since 2019, women and girls have made up nearly 60% of net golfer growth.

Women and girls have made up nearly 60% of net golfer growth since 2019, according to the National Golf Foundation.

Pushing away your fastest-growing customer group is a questionable business move.

A controversial ad from sporting giant Callaway Golf $(CALY)$ has caused a firestorm online for showing a male golfer shoving a female golfer to the ground after she attempts to use his Callaway driver - leading the company's CEO to issue a public apology on Tuesday.

The ad was created with Good Good Golf, a digital-media company and YouTube channel that features golf challenges and lifestyle golf content. It was viewed over 5 million times on X and drew criticism online for portraying physical violence against women. A few high-profile golf personalities like English professional golfer Hannah Screen and Golf.com social-media manager Claire Rogers also weighed in, calling the spot "frustrating" and "very scary."

"That approval should never have happened," Callaway Golf CEO Chip Brewer said in a statement on Tuesday. "Mistakes were made, and we are taking the matter very seriously. I want to make it clear that we sincerely apologize for the video."

The conversation surrounding this ad comes at a time when the financial stakes for golf may rest in the hands of female players, as record numbers of women are hitting the links.

"Seven point nine million women and girls played at least one round on a regular course in 2024, which was 28% of total golfers," Victor Matheson, an economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross who specializes in sports, told MarketWatch. "While golf remains male-dominated, both of these figures were all-time records."

The recent momentum of women playing golf has reversed trends that stemmed from the 2007-09 recession: From 2007 to 2012, the number of women golfers in the U.S. dropped by 30% (net 2.1 million female players), according to the National Golf Foundation.

Golf as a sport has seen unprecedented growth since 2019, partially due to it being a COVID-safe outdoor activity. Total golf participation hit a record 48.1 million people in 2025, up 41% since 2019, according to the NGF. Women and girls have accounted for nearly 60% of net golfer growth since 2019.

One way that new players get involved in golf is through golf simulators or venues like Topgolf, which provide a low-stakes way to get introduced to the sport.

"Women make up nearly half of all players in off-course golf simulators, an industry that is both growing extremely rapidly and is likely to be a 'gateway drug' for outdoor golf courses," Matheson said.

Good Good Golf also apologized for the ad, saying the spot was "not aligned with our values as a brand" and adding that it wants to make golf "more inclusive to all." Callaway and Good Good did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Shares of Callaway Golf were down 2% on Tuesday, and are up 32% in 2026.

Good Good CEO Matt Kendrick told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that "in no way were we trying to make light of or support violence. But it came across that way, and that's our fault." The full 60-second video was meant to spoof the horror movie "Obsession," released earlier this summer, he said, but "missed the mark." Good Good said it would donate the proceeds for its newest driver campaign to an organization that supports women.

It's too early to say if the controversy over this ad will affect sales for Callaway or viewership for Good Good, or hurt female participation in golf. But if the conversation about the ad continues throughout the golf season, it could jeopardize brand perception and partnerships in the sport.

Those partnerships include "Big Break," a U.S. reality-TV competition series on the Golf Channel that features Good Good, as well as the Good Good Championship, a new PGA Tour event sponsored by Good Good Golf.

"Typically, single-ad controversies blow over after a few news cycles," Justin Ehrlich, associate professor of sport analytics at Syracuse University, told MarketWatch. "But unfortunately for Callaway, reminders of the ad may resurface with every weekly episode of "Big Break," and again in November at the Good Good Championship, an event that PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has now raised questions about."

Ehrlich added: "While Callaway recently posted a strong quarter, its ability to attract new golfers, especially females, may be compromised."

-Weston Blasi