In your opinion, How many golf balls are on the moon? Have you thought about this question?
Since the start of history, humankind has gazed up at the night sky, asking profound questions about, well, everything. What is the origin of the universe? When will it be over? Is it limitless? Are we the only ones? What does it all mean?
These are serious questions, to be sure. But, after all, we’re golfers. Cultured people. Some of us gaze up at the night sky and ponder the big questions. Such as, Is there any golf ball on the moon? Also, who hit the golf ball, and how did golf balls get up on the moon?
Let’s look for the answer below, which will undoubtedly surprise you!
Souvenirs From The Moon
Before we answer how many golf balls are on the moon, let us first learn about lunar souvenirs. Astronauts are reported to have left tokens on the moon as a memento of their visit.
Some have left artifacts marking their country of origin, such as flags. At the same time, others have left copies of family photos as a tribute to their loved ones.
Alan Shepard brought one of his passions, golf, with him on the Apollo 14 mission in 1971.
Golfing On The Moon
Alan Shepard is the first and only person to have played golf on the moon.
Shepard brought two golf balls and a 6-iron clubhead for the Apollo 14 mission. It attached a modified 6-iron clubhead to a collection mechanism designed to collect lunar dust samples during his time on the moon.
Shepard took a few swings on the moon with his Frankenstined golf club and became the first person to play golf on the moon. Golfing on the moon appears to take some getting used to, as his initial stroke was not in the ideal shape.
Shepard later estimated that his second swing carried the ball roughly 200 yards because the moon’s gravity is one-sixth of Earth.
Andy Saunders calculated the actual distance traveled by the golf ball on Shepard’s second shot. Andy Saunders is an imaging professional who analyzed satellite images from February 2021.
Shepard appears to have overestimated the distance. Andy Saunders determined 40 yards rather than Shepard’s previously reported 200 yards.
How Did He Do It?
According to legend, Shepard’s gambit was not authorized by NASA. As a result, Alan Shepard smuggled the balls and the 6-iron clubhead onto the space shuttle. The two golf balls were not difficult to smuggle on board because he could fit them in a sock.
The clubhead, on the other hand, was a different story.
Because NASA refused to allow Shepard to bring a golf ball and a club on the Apollo 14 mission, he had to modify the 6-iron clubhead. Bringing golf balls unnoticed is not a difficult task due to their modest size. However, bringing a whole golf club is an entirely different story.
During his upgrades, Shepard had to alter the head to fit and attach to the collection tool. After appropriately performing those alterations, he slipped the newly adjusted clubhead into his suit.
Some argue that this is all a myth and that Shepard did get authorization from director Bob Gilruth. If this were the case, he would not have needed to conceal the materials. However, the club head modifications and forethought remain!
How Many Golf Balls Are On The Moon?
Now comes one of the most divisive issues among golfers: how many golf balls are on the moon?
While Alan Shepard only shot two balls, some say that he buried the third ball beneath the moon’s surface.
The notion of three golf balls on the moon has no proof to back it up. Furthermore, NASA has recorded the alien objects found on the moon. The two golf balls are on that list, so it’s quite official. On the moon, there are just two golf balls.
How Far Did The Golf Ball Hit On The Moon Go?
A historic photo retouching expert, Andy Saunders, has collaborated with the American Golf Association to re-engineer six archived photos from the Apollo 14 mission. This happened at the event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the flight’s launch.
To measure the distance traveled by two golf balls, Saunders relied on photographs. He claimed that the first golf ball traveled 24 yards during the round and the second golf ball traveled 40 yards.
Shepard shaft could not hold the shaft with two hands because of the spacesuit. His alternative strategy was to swing with just his right hand, which he did a total of four times.
Initially, it was projected that the ball track would be 200 yards in total length. However, after further visual analysis, specialists decided that the third shot was 24 yards out and the last shot was 40 yards away, with the ball lingering for around 30 seconds.
This is due, in part, to the moon’s environment, which has six times the gravity of Earth. As a result, 200 yards on Earth equals 1,200 yards on the moon. As if the Earth were the moon, a one-meter jump is comparable to six meters above the surface of this position.
Where Are The Two Golf Balls Now?
Two golf balls were left behind, and they have remained there to this very day. On the other hand, Shepard returned with the 6-iron clubhead and two-ball sock.
After, Alan Shepard returned to Earth. He presented the club to the Golf Association Museum in America, which has remained ever since. They are currently on display at the United States Golf Association’s Hall of Fame in New Jersey, United States of America.
The National Air and Space Museum houses a replica of this golf club in its collection. The owner of this museum is the Smithsonian Institution. And It is located in Washington, D.C.,
Wrap up
Golf is a difficult sport to master. But what about golf on the moon? That’s an entirely new ballgame altogether.
Although there are no definitive answers to the question “How many golf balls are there on the Moon?”. But it has been answered above. I hope you will find it interesting. The capacity to play golf on the moon represents a significant milestone in human evolution. Isn’t it fantastic to be able to say that you are proud of yourself?
