Wisconsin golf course Tumbledown Trails has been forced through social media shaming to apologize for a completely tone deaf newspaper ad offering a 12th anniversary of
"To Commemorate this we are offering 9 holes with cart for only $9.11 per person or 18 holes with cart for only $19.11! 9/11/13 Only!"
Rather than "liking" the company page on Facebook, like the exclamation point heavy ad suggested, people took to social media to complain - some even threatening to burn the course down - about the crass promotion exploiting a national tragedy.
An answering machine message for the golf course says, "we are no longer accepting tee times for Weds 9/11. Our attempt to remember the tragedy of that day were met with negativity and now even death threats." It ends asking callers to reflect on those who died on 9/11, as the range was trying to do.
General manager Marc Watts told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "This is the first time we've had any negative comments. So many people have come in and said, 'What a unique way to put that out there so people don't forget.'
"We'll do something next year," he continued. "I guarantee you it won't be this, but we will not give up and will not stop trying to remind people of 9/11."
Tumbledown trails first posted an apology for the ad late last night, saying that it would honor original booked discounts but "for all other golf that day we would like to donate the $ difference between our normal rate and the previous price for the day to the 9/11 Memorial."
Shortly after, it posted another clarification:
It then warned patrons that it might shut down Weds since "We are now worried about what people will do/say to our staff."
While some commenters were sympathetic, others weren't convinced:
This isn't the first company that has gotten in trouble for exploiting 9/11 for profit.