Alan B. Shepherd Jr. Golfed on the Moon 50 years ago | Unusual | News | The sun

LOf the moon.

Apollo 14 Commander Alan B. Shepard Jr. and his crew reported 42 kilograms of moon rock on February 6, 1971. There are two golf balls on the left. Mr. Shepard later described the lunar surface as a “great sand trap”. With a temporary 6 iron to become a footnote in history.

Francis O’Malley put golf in the headlines of American newspapers by winning the 1913 US Open.

Mr. Shepard surpassed them all. He launched golf into space.

“You could say he put golf on the moon map,” Jack Nicklaus said this week. The special thing about golf is that Mr. Shepard thinks so much about the game that he takes the golf club to the moon and strokes it. ”

Mr. Shepard waited until the end of the mission before surprising the American audience and some at NASA did not know what his sleeve was – or in this case, his stockings. In this way he brought golf equipment into space.

“Houston, you can recognize what is in my hand as an emergency floor model; It will be a real 6 iron at the end, Mr. Shepard said. In my left hand, I have a little white ball familiar to millions of Americans. ”

He hit more lunar surface than parts of the bullet in his first two attempts. The third was described by the main party as a “shank”. And he strikes his final blow with full force, or enters with one hand in a pressure-suited space suit weighing 180 pounds (on Earth) when the astronaut is able to hit a golf ball.

“We said it was the longest shot in world history because it hadn’t landed yet,” said renowned golf instructor Butch Hormone with a laugh.

Mr. Harman was associated with the famous uprising through his relationship with former head pro Jack Harden Sr. of the River Oaks Country Club in Houston, and Mr. Shepard asked him to build 6 iron. Mr. Harden Wilson staff successfully attached the head of the Dyna-Power 6 iron to the collapsible tool used to collect the moon rock.

How far?

The shots landed on the moon. How far the bullets went has to be discussed.

“Miles and miles and miles,” Mr. Shepard broadcast in color to a captive audience for a moment.

Almost. The hit has been rated at 200 yards over the years, which is why it is thought to have limited Mr. Shepherd’s movement for most of his space suit. He trained in his space suit in a sand trap in Houston when no one was around.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary, British imaging specialist Andy Saunders provided a more accurate account. Mr. Saunders, who works on the book “Apollo Remastered”, was judged by digital enhancement and video stacking techniques, the first shot went 24 yards. The second ball traveled 40 yards.

Former PGA champion Jimmy Walker hit the ball 200 yards to the ground with 6 irons. Mr. Walker, a space lover with a passion and passion for astrophotography, worked with the United States Golf Association (USGA) and Mr. Saunders to see how far he could strike with 6 on the occasion of the Apollo 14 anniversary. Iron in the sixth part of gravity from the moon.

“He was known to say miles and miles. They took the conditions I played and told me my ball would fly 4600 yards and have a minute suspension time,” Walker said.

This equates to just 2.5 miles (or just 4 km) for a golfer who has tried the experience with traditional 6 iron, golf boots and a polo shirt.

What emerged after so many years was that Mr. Shepard even had the idea of ​​taking a golf club to the moon. Inspired by Bob Hope, he took the golf club with him everywhere he went: when he went to NASA headquarters in Houston a year before the Apollo 14 mission. Par Doug Ferguson – The Associated Press