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.
Harmon is loosely connected with the shot through his relationship with Jack Harden Sr., the former head pro at River Oaks Country Club in Houston whom Shepard asked to build him a 6-iron he could take to the moon.
Walker, a space enthusiast with a skill and passion for astrophotography, worked with the USGA and Saunders as the Apollo 14 anniversary neared to see how far he could hit a 6-iron in one-sixth gravity of the moon.
According to USGA historian Michael Trostel, that’s what made Shepard realize a golf shot would be the ideal illustration of the moon’s gravitational pull.
“He was incessant tinkerer with equipment,” said Brandel Chamblee, a Golf Channel analyst and longtime friend of Harden’s son.
I want to wait until the very end of the mission, stand in front of the television camera, whack these golf balls with this makeshift club, fold it up, stick it in my pocket, climb up the ladder, and close the door, and we’ve gone.”
- NASA celebrates 50 years since astronaut first played golf on the MoonDaily Express
- Sideline Chatter: It was one short ace for a man, one giant swing for golfSeattle Times
- Have You Ever Seen A 'Moon Tree?' Where You Can See A Curious Legacy Of NASA's Apollo Missions 50 Years OnForbes
- Apollo 14 astronaut's 'lost' golf ball found on moon 50 years laterMirror.co.uk
- Story of the US astronaut who played golf on the Moon 50 years agoThe National
- Apollo 14 astronaut's 'lost' golf ball has been found 50 years later – just yards from tee-off pointThe Sun
- Where on Earth are the Moon Trees? NASA map reveals where they planted seeds which took trip to space on Apollo ...Daily Mail
- Has a 50-year-old mystery about playing golf on the moon finally been solved?Euronews
- 50 years since Apollo 14 return brings moon treesTimes of India
