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T O P I C R E V I E WthecollectorAnyone know how far Shep hit the golf ball on 14. My physics class wants to know. I think it was around 300 yards, if I'm not mistaken!WAWalsh With respect to the final ball, I suspect your best bet is simply to accept Alan Shepard's representation of "miles and miles and miles." Actually, I believe you will find that the record is slightly muddled with respect to the last swing and whether or not Shepard caught it square. The lunar surface journal, however, places the second shot landing in the vicinity of the ALSEP. You will have to look at a surface map to get an estimate on the probable distance. Sounds like a fun physics problem though.PhilipIf You know the painting by Alan BEAN on the A14 golf subject, one must say that the ball went quiet high ... but when reviewing the video of the golf swings I can hardly believe it was so successful ...Best regardsneilI was told it's still in orbit !bruceI asked Shepard how far he hit the ball (the second shot as the first one was a dud) and he told me "a real long way"! I then asked him the maker of the golf ball and he gave me his classic "son, you'll never know!". Just this year I asked Ed Mitchell about the make of the ball and he wrote "it's a secret". However, Mitchell is the only living witness to Shepard's drive, so you might just write him and ask him. I'm pretty sure he'd write you back with some sort of answer. I would also do what WA Walsh suggest and get a copy of 14's lunar activities map and do some math.Best Regards,Bruce MoodyRobert PearlmanHere's Shepard's answer to your question, courtesy a USA Today interview conducted in 1994:"The second one, however, was one for the ages. I kept my head down. "Beautiful...there it goes!" I hit it flush and it went at least 200 yards. The reason I know that is that I planned to hit it down-sun, against a black sky so I could follow the trajectory of the ball. That happened to be the direction we paced out 200 meters, for our experimental field, and it landed just past that area. Of course I said "Miles and miles and miles!" which was a slight exaggeration. I folded up the club, with the clubhead, put it in my pocket, climbed up the ladder, closed the door and we took off." Until man visits other parts of the solar system, they will remain the only truly out-of-this-world golf shots ever struck."
Best Regards,
Bruce Moody
"The second one, however, was one for the ages. I kept my head down. "Beautiful...there it goes!" I hit it flush and it went at least 200 yards. The reason I know that is that I planned to hit it down-sun, against a black sky so I could follow the trajectory of the ball. That happened to be the direction we paced out 200 meters, for our experimental field, and it landed just past that area. Of course I said "Miles and miles and miles!" which was a slight exaggeration. I folded up the club, with the clubhead, put it in my pocket, climbed up the ladder, closed the door and we took off." Until man visits other parts of the solar system, they will remain the only truly out-of-this-world golf shots ever struck."
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