Callaway tabs Harry Arnett for return as chief brand officer

Harry Arnett, who brought outside-the-box brand-building to both TaylorMade and Callaway for more than a decade including an unscripted talk show and corporate documentaries that turned golf marketing into entertainment, is coming back to Callaway as its new chief brand officer.

Lingering in the golf space as the CEO and co-founder of Municipal, the apparel brand he launched with Mark Wahlberg, Arnett walked away from Callaway to take a big leap in starting a new lifestyle brand. Now he’s back at Callaway for what might be an even bigger leap.

Arnett's appointment comes barely two months after Callaway endured a marketing nightmare with a Good Good promotional video that featured a woman being shoved to the ground. Arnett seems like the needed mix of an adult in the room who still displays the child-like enthusiasm to push a brand to new places in ways it may never had considered.

Indeed, it was Arnett as the host of the Callaway Live talk show who energized Brewer’s vision to reinvigorate Callaway. The show, which ran 74 episodes from 2015 to 2018 along with a Callaway Films division, was part of a company-wide push to make Callaway a part of the golf conversation in a more free-flowing way, with guests ranging from the legendary (Dick Enberg) to the looney (Howard Stern’s John Lieberman and the Baba Booey Mission Control Center). There’s no question its best moments, combined with a renewed focus from Brewer to the company’s principles of Demonstrably Superior Pleasingly Different products (the so-called “DSPD” initially phrased by company founder Ely Callaway) helped to turn the floundering legacy golf brand into something even more cool and sophisticated than the technologically innovative products it was producing.

With Arnett orchestrating the marketing message, it did that not by inundating its audience with “content,” but rather by connecting the company with golfers almost as partners or even friends in ways that felt different but comfortable and natural.

Arnett said at the time of the show’s debut, "We're definitely responding to the cultural zeitgeist that exists in the sport, but I think we're doing it in a way that's light and fast and authentic to us. … If we could figure out a way to be unique in it, provide utility to it and be a contributing citizen in the community of golfers, we could become sort of the people's brand, which was very closely connected to the DNA of the company when it got started 20 years ago."

Nearly a decade later, where golf brands have been looking for new ways to continue the unprecedented growth of the post-COVID boom, golf marketing has lacked inventiveness and the kind of edge that marketers like Arnett brought to the space. Today, a company’s message can get fragmented among all kinds of uncontrollable outlets, ranging from social media, shorter attention spans and influencers who often may be more motivated by promoting their own brands rather than yours. Arnett offered the unique ability to turn an established brand in a direction that seemed decidedly new but actually aligned with the almost folksy tone of its founder. Only someone with Arnett’s sense of freedom could boldly declare a “five-year war on mediocrity” for the brand, a message that applied not only to products but promotions and consumer engagement.

Brewer, having weathered the Good Good controversy at least for the present moment, welcomes back Arnett, who was one of his first hires when he took over as CEO in 2010. “We are very excited to have Harry return home to his Callaway family,” he said. “Harry brings a rare combination of creative vision, commercial instinct and a deep understanding of the golf consumer. During Harry’s first chapter with Callaway, he helped establish a more modern, consumer-focused approach to brand building and demand creation that contributed to Callaway’s resurgence as a leader in the golf industry.”

The company finds itself at a crucial moment, less than a year in its return to its status as a golf-only brand after freeing itself from its acquisition of the Jack Wolfskin outerwear brand and transitioning from the Topgolf driving-range entertainment business. The company’s first-half earnings showed nearly 6 percent growth year over year and raised its full-year guidance to a little more than $2 billion in annual sales.

Still, monthly equipment sales overall in the golf business have been flat to down in 2026. Unit sales in August were down by double-digit margins in nearly every category, according to figures released by Golf Datatech. And while the company has made large strides to secure its position as the No. 2 ball brand, its historically dominant putter brand Odyssey has seen some share erosion in the wake of the movement toward “zero torque” putters and the dramatic tour popularity of TaylorMade’s line of Spider Tour putters, which were being used by the top male and female players on tour, including five of the top 11 players on the Official World Golf Ranking. The mishandling of the Good Good viral video fiasco was a rough look for a company that is the most popular club brand on the LPGA Tour, and the company’s stock price has dropped nearly 30 percent since its positive earnings call in August.

Arnett personifies a change in direction and tone, with a genuine appreciation for what Callaway was, is and could be. His first statements suggest a real belief that you can go home again along with the demanding a challenge in front of him. “Coming back to Callaway means a great deal to me and my family,” he said. “I've long believed Callaway is one of the truly iconic brands in all of sports, and I couldn't be more excited to reunite with the incredible people who make this company special.

"The team has done tremendous work sharpening the company's focus on golf and putting it in a strong position for its next chapter. Now we have an opportunity to build on that momentum, create new energy around the brand, deepen our connection with golfers, and take Callaway to an entirely different level. I can't wait to roll up my sleeves and get to work with the team.”