Golf Channel on Tuesday said it was postponing the debut of its "Big Break" reboot because of the ongoing controversy surrounding Good Good Golf, its new partner for the reality series.
In a statement released about two hours before the scheduled premiere, Golf Channel said one of the show's sponsors requested to have its branding removed from the series. As a result, the premiere won't be shown until Sept. 1, which Golf Channel said "will allow for necessary production updates."
Golf Channel did not identify who made the request, but multiple reports Tuesday night said it was retailer Golf Galaxy, which had been listed as a presenting sponsor of the show.
Good Good Golf posted a video for a Callaway driver last week in which a man shoves to the ground a woman who was reaching for his new driver. The video was later deleted by Good Good and Callaway after criticism that it portrayed violence against women, though clips of the ad still made the rounds on social media after the official accounts took it down.
The characters in the ad are both with Good Good -- Garrett Clark, who rushes over to shove Alexis Miestowski and then says to her as she lies on the ground, "Do not touch my new driver."
Good Good, which was launched as a YouTube channel in 2020 and now is among the largest content creators in the sport, apologized Saturday in a statement on social media. Chip Brewers, Callaway Golf's CEO, apologized Tuesday, saying the Good Good-produced ad was ultimately signed off on by his company.
Good Good partnered with Callaway in 2023.
"Big Break" was a popular reality series on Golf Channel that was launched in 2003 and last aired in 2015. Professionals including Tony Finau appeared on it. The reboot of the series, titled "Big Break x Good Good," was announced earlier this year.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp was asked about the ad controversy during his media availability ahead of the Tour Championship on Tuesday in Atlanta.
"I think initially, no," he said when asked if he thought Good Good took enough accountability. "I think what we saw was concerning, is clearly not aligned with PGA Tour values. We take it very seriously. I think their initial response was disappointing. It was a bit defensive and late.
"But I think the responses are getting better. I think we've seen some things this morning, we've had some conversations with them, so we'll continue to monitor and work with them going forward. But no, we were disappointed with what we saw."
Good Good Golf also is the title sponsor of the PGA Tour's upcoming Good Good Championship, which will be played Nov. 12-15 at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas, which Rolapp was asked about later in his wide-ranging news conference.
"I think I mentioned before, it's a bit of a fluid situation," he said. "We were disappointed at first. It sounds like in the last 24 hours they've made some progress. We'll continue to monitor the situation and see how it develops."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.