Former Good Good Golf VP of brand and marketing Jeffrey Lefkovits is suing the company and former CEO and co-founder Matt Kendrick for defamation, claiming he never approved the shoving scene in the co-branded Callaway driver ad. The suit was filed Oct. 29 in Dallas County district court in Texas.
The lawsuit alleges Kendrick pushed a false narrative that Lefkovits and his marketing team were responsible for approving the ad, in which co-founder Garrett Clark shoved fellow Good Good member Alexis Miestowski to the ground. Clark then tells her, “Do not touch my new driver.” The details were reported by Front Office Sports, which reviewed the filing.
Kendrick told FOS on Aug. 28 that he did not see the ad before its Aug. 20 release, but that the marketing team did. Asked whether anyone on the marketing team faced consequences, Kendrick said, “We removed people responsible for the ad.”
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The lawsuit points to an Aug. 24 email Kendrick sent to staff that read, “As CEO, the responsibility ultimately sits with me.” It alleges Kendrick then “publicly shifted responsibility to the marketing team led by Lefkovits without actually investigating how the video was created and approved.”
“Lefkovits approved a lighthearted parody script for a Good Good Callaway driver ad,” the lawsuit reads. “While he was out of the office, a shot that appeared nowhere in that script… was conceived and filmed on set. That finished video was then embraced by Good Good’s own performers and owners and approved in writing by Callaway.”
According to the suit, former employee Sam Stamey first presented the script, titled “‘OBSESSED’ Thriller Parody Skit without Garrett,” to Lefkovits on July 15. “Critical to this lawsuit, the script contained no scene in which Clark shoves Good Good member Alexis Miestowski, and no depiction of domestic violence, pushing, or shoving of any kind,” the claim reads.
Stamey presented the script to Callaway on Aug. 4, the suit claims. Afterward, then-head of content Logan Spence texted, “Callaway all good. Sam did a great job.” Good Good shot the remaining scenes on Aug. 6 while Lefkovits was away, and the shove was added on set without his knowledge, according to the lawsuit.
A first cut went out on Aug. 18, per the suit. It was sent to a thread with Good Good director of partnerships Anna Dietrichson and Callaway’s then-director of content and production Alex Upegui, who replied, “Sweet. Good to go on our end.”
Later that day, Lefkovits sent the edit to co-founders Max Putnam and Colin Ross and to Spence, according to the lawsuit. Putnam commented on the edit, and no one objected to the push shot, the suit claims. Putnam, Ross and Dietrichson still work at Good Good, while Spence has since left the company and Upegui has confirmed his exit from Callaway.
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Good Good fired Lefkovits on Aug. 26, according to the suit. The lawsuit claims he asked Kendrick whether the firing was a publicity move to make someone take the fall. “Kendrick promised Lefkovits that the termination would not be made public,” the suit reads.
Lefkovits claims the association with the ad has damaged his reputation and left him unable to find work. He is seeking more than $1 million.
“Every day that goes by without Defendants recanting their false statement, Lefkovits’s ability to provide for his family is further diminished,” the suit reads, according to People.
Kendrick and former president Joe Flannery stepped down on Sept. 2. Clark had previously called it “the worst ad known to man” in an apology video.
After the ad, Good Good’s partnerships with Callaway, the PGA Tour and Golf Channel were canceled or mutually ended. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy and PGA Tour Superstore pulled Good Good merchandise from shelves. The suit claims products account for about 70% of Good Good’s revenue, though a source told FOS most sales are made online.
Lefkovits, his attorney and Kendrick did not respond to FOS’s requests for comment. A Good Good spokesperson said, “We’re not commenting on any legal matters. Our focus remains on creating a positive environment for our players, partners, and fans, and the future of Good Good Golf.”
