On February 6, 1971, Apollo 14 astronaut Al Shepard became the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon.
Though he was there doing scientific research, the impromptu one-man game of golf was really just for fun -- and it was on live television. Shepard made a makeshift golf club with a six-iron head that he smuggled from Earth, and he attached it to the handle of a lunar excavation tool. He brought two golf balls to hit. Because his spacesuit wasn't very flexible, he could only swing with one hand. One of the balls went into a nearby crater, and he claimed that the other flew for "miles and miles and miles."
Though he was there doing scientific research, the impromptu one-man game of golf was really just for fun -- and it was on live television. Shepard made a makeshift golf club with a six-iron head that he smuggled from Earth, and he attached it to the handle of a lunar excavation tool. He brought two golf balls to hit. Because his spacesuit wasn't very flexible, he could only swing with one hand. One of the balls went into a nearby crater, and he claimed that the other flew for "miles and miles and miles."
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00:00On this day in space.
00:04On February 6th, 1971, Apollo 14 astronaut Al Shepard became
00:08the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon. Though he was there doing scientific
00:12research, the impromptu one-man game of golf was really just for fun,
00:16and it was on live television. Shepard made a makeshift golf club with a
00:20six-iron head that he smuggled from Earth, and he attached it to the handle of a lunar excavation
00:24tool. He brought two golf balls to hit. Because his
00:28spacesuit wasn't very flexible, he could only swing with one hand. One of the
00:32balls went into a nearby crater, and he claimed that the other flew for miles and miles
00:36and miles. And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:40Music
00:44Music