There is grave danger in recklessly overanalyzing Good Good’s downfall.
And I would never, ever discourage anyone from taking it to extreme places.
Presuming this analysis inspires an overdue revisit of golf’s excessive post-pandemic obsession with youth pandering at the expense of golf’s better traditions.
The controversy and fallout became such an international story that it proved more compelling than early-week play in the Tour Championship. But that’s as much a product of an unimaginative playoff format designed to keep every player around to ensure corporate chalets get logoclads walking by them on the weekend Sunday. Television also needs meaningless par putts to show.
Imagine what might happen if they actually played the thing off? You know, like playoffs in every sport? Keep imagining because real cuts and real upsets are still something they’re trying to avoid starting in 2028 (but at least it’s match play and some shockers will occur).
With zero on-course drama, the golf world focused on the companies and Tours cutting Good Good loose as innocent folks outside of golf wondered how such a thing could happen. Those of us in golf weren’t shocked. At least by the stupidity. It remains shocking that so many layers of people compensated to promote a brand didn’t see the problem or thought it was a funny parody. But for years we’ve watched brands and golf organizations lose touch with reality in a bizarre thirst to appeal to an imaginary 17-year-old who will buy thousands in gear, take expensive trips, and convince their doting dads to do the same. The fear of losing this tiny slice of the golf world to someone else in the coveted demo fueled an irrational tolerance of stupidity, coarse behavior, and “comedy” that wasn’t funny at all.
It’s even been part of the distance debate. “We’re growing the game, and now you want to take away distance from new golfers, blah, blah, blah. Oh, and we have a special on our new $200 kids beginner sets this week that Kai Trump loves more than we do.”
A peculiar mix of needing to be adored by boys of a certain ilk and an acute desperation to make them customers led to Callaway taking a huge reputational hit thanks to a deal up for renewal (and probably facing absurd demands given Good Good’s success combined with the widespread Youth Derangement Syndrome vibes from all of Carlsbad). News of Callaway-Good Good renewal talks might also explain why Callaway was quick to cut ties. Though we’ll never know if Callaway would have tried harder to mop things up if they’d already inked an extension.
There has been plenty of toxic nonsense and rank stupidity from other “creators,” so it’s only stunning to anyone who has seen Good Good’s rise that they ended up the fall guys (and gals). I’m skeptical that this will extend beyond Good Good, but last week offered indications of collective golf world fatigue over the amount of money and importance given to commercial outfits just one stupid stunt away from cancellation. At times, it’s been grotesque to watch golf organizations and brands sell their soul in the name of tapping into the supposed game growers. Usually at the expense of common sense and class. Or, to see orgs tiptoe around solutions to sustainability problems in fear of the YouTuber’s wrath.
There is no point in shaming the brands and orgs that have chased crap “content” since they’re all deep in their introspective modes and still might pivot in better directions. But having been infected by Youth Derangement Syndrome—with no known cure other than bankruptcy—the “brands” should be reassessing whether otherwise (seemingly) sane adults can be entrusted with…anything.
But there is good news. We have plenty of good, good action this fall from Lahinch, Doonbeg, Wentworth, Medinah (maybe), and Kingston Heath. With a big side order of watching continued fallout from the Good Good saga.
Let’s hope the end goal of this mishegas will make the golf industry’s most insecure adults stop treating the sport like it’s some kind of embarrassment needing only the kind of validation that boys-will-be-boys behavior delivers.
I’m not sure what to say about this snoozefest other than the format seemed even more mindless after the PGA Tour unveiled plans to have a new season-ending bang starting in 2028. While that one has some of the same issues as the current one—working really hard to keep everyone around as long as possible instead of saying sayonara as they do in every other sport—it can never be as unimaginative as the current “FedExCup” debacle.
Let’s see…