Harper Lin
In 1971, Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard became the fifth person to walk on the Moon. Before the trip, Shepard, a golf enthusiast, got the idea to golf on the Moon from comedian Bob Hope, who was visiting the NASA headquarters in Houston. Shepard commissioned a custom 6-iron head that he could attach to the end of a lunar sampling tool. As his time on the lunar surface came to an end, he stood in front of a TV camera and hit two golf balls, driving the second, as he jokingly put it, miles and miles and miles.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of astronaut | Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. |
| Date | February 6, 1971 |
| Age | 47 |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Profession | Naval aviator-turned-astronaut |
| Mission | Apollo 14 |
| Golf club | Wilson Staff Dyna-Power 6-iron head |
| Type of shot | Pitch shot |
| Distance of shot | 40 yards (120 feet) |
| No. of balls hit | 2 |
| No. of people who have walked on the moon | 5 |
| Year of death | 1998 |
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What You'll Learn
Alan Shepard's golf club
Alan Shepard was the first American to travel to space and the fifth and oldest person, at 47, to walk on the Moon. He was also the only one of the Mercury Seven astronauts to do so.
Shepard became inspired to golf on the Moon after famed golfer Bob Hope visited the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston with his golf club in 1970. Shepard wanted to demonstrate the Moon's gravitational pull, which is one-sixth that of Earth's. He discreetly asked for help to keep the plan a surprise, and Jack Harden of the River Oaks Country Club in Houston made the clubhead. NASA's technical services division also assisted with the construction of the golf "club", which had to meet the same strict safety requirements as other spacecraft payloads. Shepard also cleared his golf shot with senior management, approaching then-MSC director Bob Gilruth, who initially said, "there was absolutely no way". Shepard explained the golf club's construction to Gilruth and promised that he would only take the shot if there were no equipment failures or issues during the mission.
The club Shepard used was a Wilson Staff Dyna-Power 6-iron head, weighing 16.5 ounces, attached to a collapsible tool designed to scoop lunar rock samples. The club featured a retractable teflon shaft that was ordinarily used on a device to collect soil samples. Before his trip to the Moon, Shepard practised by taking shots in a bunker at a local course in Houston while wearing his 200-pound spacesuit.
Shepard hit two golf balls on the Moon. The first shot was "shanked" into a nearby crater, and the second shot, Shepard exclaimed, went ""miles and miles and miles". However, this was an exaggeration, and the shot only travelled about 40 yards (120 feet).
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Shepard's golf swing
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. was the first American astronaut to travel to space in 1961. Before becoming a national celebrity, he served in the US Navy during World War II and became a naval aviator in 1947 and a test pilot in 1950. He was selected as one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959.
Shepard's interest in golf and his desire to play it on the Moon stemmed from a visit by comedian and avid golfer Bob Hope to the NASA headquarters in Houston in 1970. Hope, who was preparing for a television special on the Apollo flight crew, always carried his golf club with him, and this sparked Shepard's idea for a unique golf session on the lunar surface.
Shepard, a golf enthusiast himself, recognised the potential for a viral moment and saw an opportunity to showcase the Moon's gravitational pull, which is one-sixth that of Earth's. He discreetly sought assistance from Jack Harden, a club pro at River Oaks Country Club in Texas, to build him a modified golf club. The clubhead was crafted by Harden, while NASA's technical services division provided support for the rest of the club's construction, ensuring it met strict safety standards.
Shepard faced initial resistance from Bob Gilruth, the director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, who was concerned about the seriousness of space exploration and the significant cost of the Apollo program. However, Shepard eventually gained reluctant permission by promising that any golfing would occur only at the end of the mission and if there was available time.
On February 6, 1971, Shepard, as commander of the Apollo 14 mission, fulfilled his dream. He stood in front of a television camera with his makeshift club and two golf balls. Due to the constraints of his bulky spacesuit and thick gloves, he took one-handed swings, first hitting the first ball into a crater and then driving the second one, as he jokingly described it, "miles and miles and miles".
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The ball's trajectory
The trajectory of the golf ball that Alan Shepard hit on the moon has been the subject of much analysis and speculation. While Shepard himself estimated that the ball travelled about 200 yards (600 feet), image specialist Andy Saunders provided a more conservative estimate of 40 yards (120 feet) based on his analysis of archival stills, video footage, and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images. Saunders' calculations took into account the moon's airless environment and lower gravitational pull, which is one-sixth that of Earth's.
Shepard's golf shot was not a spontaneous decision but a carefully planned and discreetly executed endeavour. He commissioned a custom 6-iron head, which he attached to the end of a lunar sampling tool, and practised one-handed bunker shots in full gear to prepare for the unique challenge of golfing on the moon. The modified club was tucked away in his space suit, along with a few golf balls hidden in a sock.
Shepard's golf shot took place at the end of the Apollo 14 mission, just before the crew's departure from the lunar surface. It was captured by a television camera and beamed back to Earth, where it left viewers stunned. However, there are no still images of this historic moment, only the television footage.
The golf balls themselves were challenging to spot, even in the footage. They were only visible in the Apollo 14 takeoff footage after applying a complex stacking technique to multiple separate frames. This suggests that the astronauts likely couldn't see the balls from the spacecraft during their time on the ground or when flying away from the moon.
Shepard's golf shot on the moon has captured the imagination of people worldwide, not just those interested in golf. It represented a playful moment in the midst of a serious and expensive space exploration endeavour, costing $25 billion at the time, or approximately $246 billion in today's value. It also showcased the unique properties of the moon's environment and provided a fun experiment to demonstrate the moon's lower gravitational pull.
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The moon's gravity
The Moon has a gravitational pull that is about one-sixth of that on Earth. This means that an object on the Moon will only weigh about one-sixth of what it would on Earth.
This difference in gravity is due to the Moon's smaller mass compared to Earth. The Moon is much smaller and less dense than Earth, so it has less gravity. The Moon's gravity is strong enough to keep it in orbit around Earth, but it is not strong enough to hold an atmosphere.
Because of the Moon's weaker gravity, objects fall much more slowly than they do on Earth. This means that a golf ball hit on the Moon will travel much farther than it would on Earth, assuming the same force is applied to it. In fact, calculations show that a professional golfer could hit a ball several miles on the Moon, given the flexibility of their suit.
When astronaut Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on the Moon, he estimated that it travelled about 200 yards (600 feet). However, a later analysis of images and video footage from the event determined that the ball actually travelled about 40 yards (120 feet). This is still impressive, considering Shepard was wearing a bulky spacesuit and swinging the club with one hand.
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The Apollo 14 mission
Apollo 14, which took place between January 31 and February 9, 1971, was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to land on the Moon, and the first to land in the lunar highlands. It was the last of the "H missions", which involved landings at specific sites of scientific interest on the Moon for two-day stays with two lunar extravehicular activities (EVAs) or moonwalks.
The mission was commanded by Alan Shepard, with Stuart Roosa as Command Module Pilot and Edgar Mitchell as Lunar Module Pilot. Shepard, who was 47 years old at the time, became the fifth person, and the oldest person, to walk on the Moon. He was also the first American to enter space with a suborbital flight on May 5, 1961, and one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts.
Shepard and Mitchell made their lunar landing on February 5 in the Fra Mauro formation, where they collected 94.35 pounds (42.80 kg) of Moon rocks and deployed several scientific experiments. While on the Moon, Shepard hit two golf balls using a modified club, with the moment being captured by TV cameras.
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Frequently asked questions
Alan Shepard, an American astronaut and naval aviator.
On February 6, 1971, during the Apollo 14 mission.
Shepard was inspired by comedian Bob Hope, who visited the NASA headquarters in Houston with his golf club. Shepard wanted to demonstrate the moon's gravitational pull, which is one-sixth that of Earth's.
Shepard used a Wilson Staff Dyna-Power 6-iron head, attached to a lunar sample scoop handle. He smuggled the clubhead and a few golf balls on board, hiding the balls in a sock.
