Did you know Alan Shepard used a golf club on the Moon?
Home of the golf club used by Alan Shepard on the moon, and more artifacts from the sport's history. The golf club used by Alan B. Shepard on the moon, and the sock he smuggled it aboard in (courtesy USGA Museum)
What happened to the first golf ball on the Moon?
The golf club used by Alan B. Shepard on the moon, and the sock he smuggled it aboard in (courtesy USGA Museum) Alan B. Shepard wasn’t just the first American in space and the fifth person to walk on the moon, he was also the first and only astronaut to play golf outside of our atmosphere. The first ball angled off into a crater.
What did Alan Shepard bring back from the Moon?
The moon. Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard and his crew brought back about 90 pounds of moon rocks on Feb. 6, 1971. Left behind were two golf balls that Shepard, who later described the moon’s surface as “one big sand trap,” hit with a makeshift 6-iron to become a footnote in history.
What is the Moon Club?
The Moon Club, a specially crafted 6-iron clubhead, weighing 16.5 ounces, that was carried by Alan Shepard onboard the Apollo 14 mission to the moon as seen at the USGA Headquarters in Far Hills, NJ. (USGA/John Mummert) Apollo 14 launched on Jan. 31.
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What happened to the golf ball that Alan Shepard hit on the moon?
Shepard brought two balls with him. The first ball he only skimmed, and it was easily recovered by colleague Edgar Mitchell in a nearby crater. By the second ball, Shepard had gotten the hang of it and sent it flying. That ball then remained missing for half a century.
Who left golf balls on the moon?
Alan ShepardLunar Golfing Alan Shepard, part of the Apollo 14 mission, stands as the only person to hit golf balls on the moon. During the mission, Shepard took a few swings and ended up leaving two golf balls to live on the moon forever.
How far did Alan Shepard's golf ball go on the moon?
He was exaggerating, according to new analysis from the United States Golf Association (USGA). Based on data from the crew and a modern-day moon mission, the group found that the first ball traveled 24 yards (22 meters) and the second about 40 yards (37 m).
Who is the only person who played golf on the moon?
Alan ShepardIt wasn't Neil Armstrong, it was Alan Shepard of Apollo 14 who played golf on the moon. The "club" he used was a contingency sample extension handle with a no 6 iron head attached. Each astronaut was allocated a certain amount of weight for personal items. Shepard used his to take the club head and three golf balls.
Did Buzz Aldrin play golf on the moon?
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin attempted to play golf on the Moon. False. It was, in fact, Alan Shepard who took a golf ball to the moon on Apollo 14 – he hit it with a sample collector and it went out of sight!
Has anyone golfed on the moon?
Fifty years ago this week, NASA astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. made space history when he took a few golf swings on the Moon during the Apollo 14 mission, successfully hitting two golf balls across the lunar surface. Space enthusiasts have debated for decades just how far that second ball traveled.
Did Alan Shepard sneak a golf club on the moon?
The Moon Club, a specially crafted 6-iron clubhead, weighing 16.5 ounces, that was carried by Alan Shepard onboard the Apollo 14 mission to the moon, as seen at the USGA Golf Museum. The club featured a clubhead attached to a retractable teflon shaft ordinarily used on a device to collect soil samples.
Is the golf ball still on the moon?
There are two golf balls on the moon. They were taken there by Alan Shepard in 1971, during the Apollo 14 mission. Shepard was the first American into space, and the fifth person to ever walk on the moon… but most impressively, he was the first (and only) person to ever play golf outside of the earth's atmosphere!
Why was Alan Shepard removed from Apollo 13?
Shepard, Mitchell and Roosa were originally scheduled to fly Apollo 13 and were bumped to give Shepard more training time in the simulators before his return to space flight following treatment for Ménière's disease.
Where is the golf club that was on the moon?
the United States Golf Association MuseumYou might think both the sock and club would have ended up in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, but the club on display there is actually a replica. The real Shepard club along with that traveling sock are actually held by the United States Golf Association Museum in Far Hills, New Jersey.
How many golf balls are on the moon?
two golf ballsThere are two golf balls on the moon, placed there by Alan Shepard, a NASA astronaut in the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.
Who was the famous golfer who was convinced to play with the moon club?
Shepard was convinced to part with his precious moon club after the famed singer and entertainer Bing Crosby, a member of the USGA committee in 1972, wrote Shepard saying the museum would be "an ideal repository for the celebrated implement," Nenno said. Shepard and Crosby were already acquainted from playing together at Pebble Beach, California, a well-known golf haven for enthusiasts.
Who was the only person to hit a golf ball on the moon?
Decades after the historic golf excursion, Shepard still had pride in the accomplishment. "So far I'm the only person to have hit a golf ball on the moon. Probably will be for some time," he told NASA in the February 1998 oral history, a few months before his death at age 74.
What was the golf club on the Apollo moon?
Why "unusual and interesting"? Technically speaking, the golf club was a Wilson Staff Dyna-Power 6-iron head attached to a sampling tool — a five-piece tool loosely held together by string when not fully assembled — that was made of aluminum and Teflon. Golf clubs usually don't come apart as Shepard's moon club did, but Shepard needed the modification to fold it into the cramped quarters of the Apollo lunar lander.
Why did Hope golf on the moon?
Hope took his golf club everywhere, according to the USGA, and Shepard was inspired to do a quick golf session on the moon to demonstrate the moon's gravitational pull, which is one-sixth that of Earth, according to NASA. Shepard, the commander of Apollo 14 and a long-time NASA astronaut, used his connections to discreetly ask for help keeping ...
Where did the golf club that was tucked away go?
The rules surrounding giving space artifacts to astronauts were different in the 1970s, so Shepard kept the club before donating it to the USGA Museum in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, roughly an hour west of New York City, in 1974.
How far can a male golfer drive?
By comparison, a 2019 report using golf tournaments' gender categories shows that an average amateur male golfer on Earth can drive the ball 216 yards (198 m), and an average female golfer 148 yards (135 m), although those distances have increased significantly since Shepard's flight.
How far can a golfer drive the ball?
By comparison, a 2019 report using golf tournaments' gender categories shows that an average amateur male golfer on Earth can drive the ball 216 yards (198 m), and an average female golfer 148 yards (135 m), although those distances have increased significantly since Shepard's flight.
Who was the guy who joked about hitting a ball on the moon?
Supposedly, when Shepard (who was known as a bit of a joker) gave Bob Hope a tour of a NASA facility in the early 1960s, Hope joked about hitting a ball on the moon. The idea stuck with Shepard, since one of the things the astronauts had been expected to do from the very beginning was act as science ambassadors to the general public.
What did astronauts do with zero G bubbles?
Other astronauts played with zero-G bubbles or did zero-G somersaults or repeated Galileo’s “hammer and feather drop” experiment in vacuum. Shepard would hit a golf ball.
Did the smugglers smuggle a club?
It’s often said that he “smuggled” a club aboard, but that’s actually not true at all.
Who was the golfer that used golf to ride the moon?
The idea to use golf as the visual hit Shepard when famed comedian Bob Hope visited NASA prior to the mission. During the tour led by Shepard, Hope carried around an old driver and eventually used it for balance when he entered the moonwalker, simulating conditions on the moon.
Who carried the moon club?
The Moon Club, a specially crafted 6-iron clubhead carried by Alan Shepard onboard the Apollo 14 mission to the moon as seen on August 30, 2007 at the USGA Headquarters in Far Hills, NJ. (USGA/John Mummert) “Miles and miles and miles,” Shepard said as he watched it sail. “Very good, Al,” Haise said. It wasn’t really miles.
How much does the moon club weigh?
The Moon Club, a specially crafted 6-iron clubhead, weighing 16.5 ounces, that was carried by Alan Shepard onboard the Apollo 14 mission to the moon as seen at the USGA Headquarters in Far Hills, NJ. (USGA/John Mummert)
What was the first golf shot on the moon?
The first golf shot on the moon came to life, rolling into a crater about 40 yards away. He had the hang of it now. Shepard dropped a second ball and swung again. Keeping his head down as much as he could, he made contact a second time.
Where is the moon club?
While Shepard died in 1998 at the age of 74, his legacy lives on in the USGA Golf Museum and Library in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, where the moon club and the sock that contained the two golf balls brought to the moon are two of the museum’s most popular items alongside Bobby Jones’ famous Calamity Jane putter.
How did the Wilson golf club work?
With the help of Jack Harden, head golf pro at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas, Shepard crafted a modified Wilson 6-iron clubhead. They chose to create a 6-iron because the length of the shaft for a scientific instrument was about the length of a traditional 6-iron. The modified club fit in a small bag, folded along its five breaks, connected by a piece of string. With a pull of the internal string, all five sections of the shaft were reconnected and with the tying of a knot, the shaft became solid. With the addition of the Wilson clubhead, which snaps in the thinnest end of the shaft, NASA’s first golf club was assembled. It weighed about 16.5 ounces.
When was the second Apollo 14 mission?
kept his plan quiet. The mission came first. Apollo 14, Shepard’s second space flight as commander, was planned for Jan. 31 to Feb. 9, 1971. Two years after humans first landed on the moon, Shepard wouldn’t be the first astronaut in space or the first person to walk on the moon on this trip, ...
Who used the golf club on the moon?
Home of the golf club used by Alan Shepard on the moon, and more artifacts from the sport's history. The golf club used by Alan B. Shepard on the moon, and the sock he smuggled it aboard in (courtesy USGA Museum) Alan B. Shepard wasn’t just the first American in space and the fifth person to walk on the moon, he was also ...
Who was the golfer on the moon?
Senior Historian Mike Trostel at the USGA Museum explained to Atlas Obscura over the phone that Shepard’s idea to play golf on the moon came while giving Bob Hope a tour of the NASA complex, who was swinging an old driver he’d brought with him while hooked up to a moon walker.
How far does a 6 iron swing go?
A usual 6-iron swing goes about 150 yards and has an airtime of about 25 to 30 seconds, but that second shot Shepard took went between 200 to 400 yards (not quite the miles and miles he’d said on television, but it likely felt that way in the moment). “Presumably, the ball is still up on the surface,” Trostel said.
Who was the first person to play golf on the moon?
Alan B. Shepard wasn’t just the first American in space and the fifth person to walk on the moon, he was also the first and only astronaut to play golf outside of our atmosphere. On February 6, 1971 during the Apollo 14 moon mission for which he was serving as commander at the age of 47, he set down two golf balls on the lunar surface.
Who was the man with the moon club?
Alan B. Shepard with the “moon club,” and the unfolded club on the right (courtesy USGA Museum) Shepard had to smuggle the makeshift 6-iron club head and two balls on the Saturn V rocket inside his sock, as extra weight and fun and games on the moon wasn’t exactly encouraged by NASA.
Where is the USGA Museum?
The “moon club” and sock (courtesy USGA Museum) The United States Golf Association Museum is located in Far Hills, New Jersey. Click here to find out more about the intriguing artifacts of sports history in the museum.
Who played golf on the moon 50 years ago?
But one “out of this world” moment trumps them all – that time 50 years ago when astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. played golf on the moon.
Who tossed the first ball of the solar wind experiment?
Sitting near Shepard’s first ball is a pole from a solar wind experiment, tossed by crewmate Edgar Mitchell. (NASA/JSC/ASU/Andy Saunders)
Why did the Shepard ball stay airborne longer than it would have been on Earth?
The absence of aerodynamic forces on the ball, and lack of the spin-induced “magnus effect” caused by the ball’s dimples, meant that it followed a perfectly parabolic flight. It also stayed airborne longer due to lower gravitational forces pulling it back to the ground.
What is the moon bunker?
The moon is effectively one giant, un-raked, rock-strewn bunker. There were no “preferred lies” as a fully-suited astronaut would struggle to tee the ball up on the surface. The pressurized suits severely restricted movement, and due to their helmet’s visors, they struggled to even see their feet.
Why did the ball stay airborne longer?
It also stayed airborne longer due to lower gravitational forces pulling it back to the ground.
Who was the pilot of Apollo 13?
CAPCOM (Capsule Communicator) Fred Haise, who was the lunar module pilot for Apollo 13, applied some astute commentary from his position in Mission Control: “Looked like a slice to me, Al.”. The location of the first “shanked” ball can be seen in the crater to the right.
Is Golf Journal a quarterly publication?
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Why does a golf ball travel farther on the moon?
On the moon, a golf ball will travel much farther because the comparatively weak surface gravity will accelerate it back to the surface more slowly.
How far did Alan Shepherd hit the golf ball?
Many people know that Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepherd hit a golf ball on the moon. In so doing, he became the first person to ever play golf on another world. Having hit the golf ball in the moon's low gravity environment, the ball likely remained above the surface for more than a minute. During that time, the ball might have traveled more than two miles. Nobody actually calculated the precise distance the ball traveled. Physicists have estimated the ball's traveling distance based on their knowledge of the environment and by making assumptions about the force Shepherd applied to the ball on impact and the angle with which he struck it. They estimate it might have landed between two and two and a half miles from the impact point. Text book physics problems provide one with all the information required to solve the problems. In real life situations, much of the information is unknown and therefore answers are predicated on mis-informed presumptions. We cannot truly know precisely how far Shepherd's ball traveled. However, he undoubtedly holds the record for the longest drive in history, far surpassing Mike Austin's highly impressive world record 515 yard drive.*
What happens when you strike a golf ball?
So if you strike a golf ball up at an angle, it will describe a parabolic arc ascending to a high point, at which its vertical velocity is momentarily zero, and then descending back down to the surface. On Earth, a golf ball doesn't remain in the air for long as the planet's gravity quickly pulls it back down.
How fast does the Moon escape gravity?
The moon's gravity is weaker than Earth's, but still quite strong. The moon's escape velocity is about 5,310 miles per hour! In order to escape its gravity field, an object would have to at least move at this velocity. Not even the strongest human could launch a golf ball at such a speed.
How far would a golf ball have landed from the impact point?
They estimate it might have landed between two and two and a half miles from the impact point.
Can you hit a golf ball on the moon?
There is no air resistance on the moon to slow the ball's travel. The faster one hits a golf ball, the farther it moves as no fluid resists it. As for making a ball leaving the moon altogether, well, a human truly couldn't. The moon's gravity is weaker than Earth's, but still quite strong.
