Fifty years ago, Apollo 14 astronaut Alan B. Shepard etched his name in history by hitting two golf balls on the lunar surface. For decades, enthusiasts debated the distance of his second shot. Now, we have definitive proof.
Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. holds the distinction of being the first American in space (Mercury program, 1961) and the fifth person to walk on the Moon (Apollo 14, 1971). During this third successful U.S. lunar landing, Shepard and Edgar Mitchell explored the Fra Mauro geological formation, west of the expansive Fra Mauro crater.
During their second extravehicular activity near Cone Crater—and after collecting nearly 45 kg of lunar rock samples for the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM)—Shepard indulged in a whimsical moment. He pulled two golf balls from his pocket, attached a 6-iron clubhead to the telescoping shaft of a sample collector, and took a one-handed swing in his bulky spacesuit.
Playing golf on the Moon was no easy feat. Shepard missed on his first two attempts, but the third connected, sending the first ball about 20 meters away—later recovered by Mitchell from a nearby crater. For his final shot, Shepard claimed the ball flew "miles and miles" in jest. In truth, it vanished, sparking endless speculation about its distance.
That speculation ends here. Imaging expert Andy Saunders, who collaborated with the United States Golf Association (USGA) to honor Shepard's achievement, recently analyzed high-resolution scans of the original Apollo 14 mission footage. In a detailed Twitter thread, he revealed the second ball's landing spot: approximately 36 meters away.
Don't underestimate this—lifting a golf ball that far under lunar gravity, in a pressurized suit, with one hand, is a testament to Shepard's skill and nerve.
For context, Saunders calculated that a pro golfer striking a ball at 298 km/h (as Jimmy Walker did in the 2016 PGA Championship) at a 45-degree angle on the Moon could send it 4.22 kilometers—airborne for a full minute.
