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A city golf course in Utah is removing Callaway merchandise after an ad ‘using harm to women as a punchline’

Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski said Callaway has taken positive steps after airing the controversial ad, but the city is opting to stock from women-owned brands.

(Google Street View) The clubhouse at River Oaks Golf Course, a municipal course in Sandy.

(Google Street View) The clubhouse at River Oaks Golf Course, a municipal course in Sandy.

Sandy City will pull Callaway golf merchandise from the shelves at a local golf course, after the brand released an advertisement that joked about violence against women.

Good Good Golf, a digital media company that also sells apparel, produced a video ad with Callaway that featured Good Good’s co-founder, Garrett Clark, shoving a woman, 26-year-old pro golfer Alexis Miestowski, to the ground before she could reach one of his Callaway golf clubs. “Do not touch my new driver,” the man said in the video, while wearing a Good Good-branded hat.

The ad has prompted backlash across the internet this week, leading Callaway to end its partnership with the media company and pledge to donate $1 million to support organizations working to prevent violence against women.

Good Good announced Thursday it would step away as the sponsor of a PGA Tour event this fall, and Clark apologized for his role in the video. This came after Dick’s Sporting Goods and its subsidiary, Golf Galaxy, pulled Good Good’s merchandise from its shelves and websites, Front Office Sports reported Wednesday.

Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski said in a news release Friday that Callaway is taking positive steps, but the city’s River Oaks Golf Course pro shop will remove the brand from its shelves. The mayor also said the city would use the opportunity to stock women-owned brands that “demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility.”

“River Oaks is a public golf course, and that means everyone should feel welcome here,” Zoltanski said in a statement. “Violence against women is not acceptable, and using harm to women as a punchline is not consistent with the environment we want to create at our public recreation facilities.”

The removal of Callaway merchandise is also part of Sandy City’s commitment to make public recreation more welcoming and accessible, the city said in a news release.

“We don’t control the decisions private companies make, but we do control the choices we make,” Zoltanski said. “At River Oaks, we can give our customers more options… and create opportunities for women-owned companies. Most importantly, we can make sure our public recreation spaces send a simple message: you belong here, you’re safe here.”

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