Lunar Golf

Astronauts are normally all business as they prepare for their space flights, but even these professionals have a sense of humor, and on occasion, they have been known to pull a fast one on NASA officials. Over the years, things like sandwiches and pizza smuggled onboard the spacecraft, and other things have shown up onboard…after they were in orbit, so nothing could be done about it. Call it rebellion if you want to, but these people are going to be up there for a while, they need a little humor too.

For example, during the Apollo 14 lunar mission, Commander Alan Shepard famously played a round of “cosmic golf” on the Moon after completing his exploration of its surface. NASA had no idea what was coming, but on February 6, 1971, during the Antares lander’s second day in the Fra Mauro region, the astronauts had some downtime after completing their scientific objectives. Seizing the moment, Shepard pulled out a custom-modified Wilson Staff Dyna-Power 6 golf club head, which he had secretly stashed in the tool compartment, and attached it to the handle of a lunar sample scoop. In a historic first, he took two swings that were somewhat accurate, considering the gravity, or the lack thereof, officially introducing golf to the lunar surface.

It’s hard to say what NASA thought about this extra baggage. One account claims that Apollo 14 mission director Bob Gilruth knew about the commander’s plan and reluctantly approved it, but only after all scheduled Moon tasks were finished. Another version suggests Shepard secretly brought the golf club head aboard, inspired by fellow astronaut John Young. Either way, mission control was completely caught off guard by the first extraterrestrial golf swing.

As a dedicated golfer, Shepard went through all the usual rituals for a great shot, including donning a golfer’s glove. Naturally, the Moon’s low gravity and the limitations of the extravehicular activity suit posed challenges, Shepard had to swing with one hand instead of both. Both shots were off-target, and the balls only traveled a few dozen meters. However, Shepard never confessed to this in an interview back on Earth. In a “fisherman-like embellishment,” he boasted that the balls flew “for miles and miles and miles.” I’m sure he had hoped that his skills would have produced better results and was disappointed when they didn’t.

The astronauts spotted where Shepard’s first ball landed, but the second one disappeared from view due to limited visibility through the spacesuit visor. It took 50 years to locate it. Space imagery specialist and astronomy enthusiast Andy Saunders examined photos of the Apollo 14 landing site and found it 22 meters from the impact point. The first ball, on the other hand, traveled slightly farther, reaching 36.5 meters. Apparently, it is very hard to distinguish the round golf ball from the similarly colored and sized pebbles of the lunar surface. Finally, Saunders utilized orbital images of the Apollo 14 landing site taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to figure it out.