History · APOLLO 14 · FRA MAURO · 1971

The first golf shot on the Moon went about 24 yards.

Name: Golf on the Moon: how far Alan Shepard's two shots really went | Fact Caddie
Description: At the end of Apollo 14's last moonwalk in February 1971, Alan Shepard hit two golf balls one-handed with a six-iron head on a sample-tool handle. He said the second went "miles and miles and miles". A 2021 analysis puts them at about 24 and 40 yards.

At the end of Apollo 14's last moonwalk in February 1971, Alan Shepard hit two golf balls one-handed with a six-iron head on a sample-tool handle. He said the second went "miles and miles and miles". A 2021 analysis puts them at about 24 and 40 yards.

The one to remember

Two balls, about 24 and 40 yards, still on the Moon.

Facts and sources

On 6 February 1971, at the end of Apollo 14's second and last moonwalk, Alan Shepard fixed a Wilson Staff Dyna-Power 6-iron head to the handle of the contingency sample tool and hit two golf balls at Fra Mauro (NASA's Apollo Lunar Surface Journal; USGA).
His pressurised suit was too stiff for two hands: "Unfortunately, the suit is so stiff, I can't do this with two hands" (the mission transcript). He swung with his right hand only.
His first two swings hit more moon than ball. The third sent the first ball into a nearby crater; after hitting a second ball he called out "Miles and miles and miles."
In 2021 imaging specialist Andy Saunders enhanced the original flight film and photographs, located both balls and measured the shots against Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images: about 24 yards and about 40 yards (USGA).
Shepard gave the club to the USGA at the 1974 U.S. Open; it is on display at the USGA Golf Museum and Library in Liberty Corner, New Jersey (USGA, January 2026). The two balls were left on the Moon.

Illustration: the scenes are drawn from the mission transcript, the photographs and the 2021 analysis, not traced from them. Earth's place in the sky (at Fra Mauro it stood almost overhead), the camera views, the swings, the ball flights and the layout of the overhead view are illustrative; the distances are the 2021 estimates.

Sources

A Nice Day for a Game of Golf: EVA-2 Closeout and the Golf Shots · Apollo Lunar Surface Journal (NASA History), ed. Eric M. Jones checked 11 October 2026
The Mystery Behind Alan Shepard's 'Moon Shot' Revealed · USGA (Andy Saunders, 5 February 2021) checked 11 October 2026
'One Great Big Sand Trap': 55 Years of the Moon Club · USGA (Elizabeth Beeck, exhibits curator, 13 January 2026) checked 11 October 2026
3 Things: The Moon Club · USGA (Michael Trostel, 5 February 2019) checked 11 October 2026
Out of this world: Shepard puts golf on moon 50 years ago · Associated Press (Doug Ferguson, 5 February 2021), via WDIV ClickOnDetroit checked 11 October 2026

The narration is AI-generated. Sources last checked 11 October 2026.

Script

The first golf shot on the Moon went about 24 yards. In February 1971, at the end of Apollo 14's last moonwalk, Alan Shepard pulled out a six iron head. He fixed it to the handle of a tool made for scooping up moon rocks. His pressure suit was so stiff that he could only swing one handed. His first two swings hit more moon than ball. The third sent it into a crater. He dropped a second ball and caught it cleanly. Miles and miles and miles, he said. In 2021, imaging specialist Andy Saunders enhanced the original film and photographs, and spotted both balls. The first went about 24 yards. The second, about 40. The club is in the USGA Museum now. The balls are still up there.