What Golf Club Did Alan Shepard Use on the Moon?

The famous golf club Alan Shepard used on the moon wasn't a standard, off-the-rack model, but a cleverly designed, one-of-a-kind tool created specifically for the lunar surface. It was a Wilson Staff Dyna-Power 6-iron head that Shepard himself attached to the handle of a contingency sample return tool - an instrument meant for scooping up moon rocks. This article will tell the full story behind this iconic piece of sports and space history, from its construction to a golf coach's analysis of the most out-of-this-world swing ever taken and what we can learn from it today.

The Story Behind Golf on the Moon

On February 6, 1971, during the Apollo 14 mission, astronaut and avid golfer Alan Shepard unfolded his makeshift club. As commander of the mission, Shepard had a tight schedule filled with geological surveys and scientific experiments on the Fra Mauro formation. But he had a little experiment of his own, something he’d cooked up with astronaut physician Bill Carpentier and legendary entertainer Bob Hope. Getting the golf gear approved by NASA was its own challenge. Shepard initially proposed the idea to Bob Gilruth, the Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center. Gilruth’s response? A firm "absolutely not." He was worried about the mission's public perception if anything went wrong.

Undeterred, Shepard waited. He completed every mission objective with flying colors. Then, with just a few minutes of televised broadcast time left, he revealed his surprise. "Houston, you might recognize what I have in my hand as the contingency sample return handle," he announced to a perplexed Mission Control. He then attached the 6-iron head he'd smuggled aboard and dropped two golf balls onto the lunar dust. "The handle is spring-loaded, and I've got a clubhead on the end of it... In my left hand, I have a little white pellet that's familiar to millions of Americans."

His stunt was a brilliant demonstration of the moon’s low-gravity environment (one-sixth of Earth's) and, to him, a lighthearted way to end a successful mission on a high note. It was a moment that has been etched into the memory of golfers and space enthusiasts ever since.

The Anatomy of the Lunar 6-Iron

To really appreciate Shepard's feat, you have to understand the unique piece of equipment he was using. It wasn't simply a 6-iron he picked up at the pro shop. Every aspect of it was dictated by the extreme constraints of space travel.

The Club Head: A Wilson Staff Classic

The business end of the club was a genuine Wilson Staff Dyna-Power 6-iron head. This model was a popular blade-style iron from the 1960s, known for its clean look and great feel - for those who could strike it well. Shepard worked with a club pro in Houston to find the right head and modify it so it could be attached to the sample handle. A blade iron requires a much more precise strike than a modern cavity-back iron, making Shepard’s later swings even more impressive.

The "Shaft": A Telescoping Sample Tool

The true genius of the moon club was its shaft. There was no way to fit a standard 37-inch golf club into the tight quarters of the Apollo Lunar Module. Shepard’s solution was to use a piece of official mission equipment: the contingency sample collection handle. This was a lightweight, telescoping aluminum pole that could extend and lock into place. It was designed to attach to various heads, like a scoop or a rake, for picking up geological samples. Shepard simply had his 6-iron head modified to be one of those interchangeable attachments.

While functional, this "shaft" was far from ideal for a golf swing.

• It was flimsy: Compared to a tapered steel shaft designed to manage torque and transfer energy, the aluminum pole was unstable.
• It had no grip: Instead of a soft, tacky rubber grip, he was holding onto a smooth, cylindrical metal handle, making a firm hold nearly impossible.
• It was short and awkward: The shaft’s length and an unchangeable lie angle meant he had to stand in an unusual, hunched-over position to even address the ball.

This makeshift club was the ultimate test of adaptation, a theme every golfer who has ever faced a difficult lie can relate to.

A Golf Coach's Analysis of the Moon Swing

As a golf coach, watching the footage of Shepard's lunar shots is fascinating. He faced a combination of challenges that no golfer, before or since, has ever had to navigate. The swing itself is a perfect case study in how circumstances dictate mechanics.

Challenge 1: The Pressurized Spacesuit

The biggest obstacle was not the lack of gravity or the custom club, it was his A7L spacesuit. These suits were bulky and, when pressurized in the near-vacuum of space, incredibly stiff. Think of swinging a golf club while wearing an inflated, non-flexible snowsuit.

• No Hip and Shoulder Turn: The foundation of a good golf swing on Earth is rotation. We turn our hips and shoulders away from the ball to create power and unwind through the shot. Shepard couldn't do this. The suit prevented any meaningful torso rotation.
• Restricted Arm Movement: The suit's arms were difficult to bend and even harder to bring across his chest. This restriction is why he was forced into a one-handed, lurching swing. He couldn't create a connected, smooth motion.

Challenge 2: Swinging in Low Gravity

While the one-sixth gravity meant the ball would travel much further with a good strike, it also made the swing itself precarious. Balance is a fragile thing. Here on Earth, gravity holds us down, helping us stay stable as we rotate powerfully. On the moon, any slight off-balance move would be severely exaggerated. Shepard had to focus intently on staying centered over the ball, knowing a big, uncontrolled swing could have sent him tumbling - a dangerous and not-so-dignified end to his stunt.

The Swings Themselves

Watching the swings, you can see how he adapted:

1. First Attempt (A Shank!): On his first swing, you see him attempt a kind of choppy, one-handed baseball swing. Due to the stiff suit and unstable club, he basically whiffs, catching mostly lunar dust and just nudging the ball a few feet away. Even astronauts can shank it! It’s a relatable moment of failure.
2. Second Attempt (A Topped Shot): He tries again on the first ball. He shifts his weight and makes better contact, but it's clearly a topped shot that scurries away instead of flying high, traveling about 24 yards.
3. Third Attempt (Pure Contact): This is the famous one. With his third and final swing (on the second ball), it all comes together. He uses the same one-handed, arms-only motion, but this time he finds the center of the club face. The result is a beautiful, soaring shot that seems to hang in the black sky forever. With no atmosphere to create drag and with only one-sixth the gravity, this decently struck 6-iron shot sailed an estimated 200 yards! This is when Shepard famously joked that the ball went for "miles and miles and miles."

As a coach, the biggest takeaway is his commitment. Despite the awkward gear and stiff suit, he kept his head down and focused solely on making clean contact. He couldn't create a powerful, textbook swing, so he didn't try to. He prioritized impact, and that's a lesson for every golfer.

Lessons From the Lunar Golfer for Your Game

Alan Shepard's lunar golf exhibition isn't just a cool trivia fact, it carries practical lessons we can all apply to our games on Earth.

1. Adapt to Your Environment

Shepard couldn't make his normal swing, so he invented a new one that fit the situation. How often do we stand over a ball on a sidehill lie, or tucked under a tree, and try to make our perfect, flat-lie swing? It rarely works. The greatest golfers are adaptable. They assess the lie, obstacles, and conditions, and then choose the shot and swing that fit the challenge. Don't force your "A" swing into a "C" situation. Play smarter, not harder.

2. Simplify Under Pressure

With an audience of hundreds of millions and extremely unforgiving gear, Shepard didn't try a complex, powerful swing. He went with a simple, arms-only motion focused on one thing: a clean strike. When you're facing a nerve-racking shot - a drive on the first tee or a chip to save par - take a page from Shepard's book. Shorten your backswing, quiet your powerful muscles, and just focus on making solid contact. Oftentimes, a simplified approach yields a much better result.

3. Don't Forget to Have Fun

Ultimately, Shepard did it for the joy and symbolism. He brought a moment of levity and human spirit to the stark, technical landscape of a space mission. Golf can become a frustrating pursuit of a perfect score or a flawless swing. Shepard’s stunt reminds us that, at its heart, it’s a game. It's meant to be enjoyed. So the next time you have a bad hole, remember the image of a man in a bulky spacesuit, shanking a golf ball on the moon - and laughing about it.

Final Thoughts

Alan Shepard's "moon club" was a testament to human ingenuity - a Wilson Staff 6-iron head attached to a geological tool, creating a hybrid that allowed him to make history. His stiff, one-handed swing in even stiffer technical gear shows that the fundamentals of golf - adaptation, balance, and a focus on solid contact - are universal, whether you're playing at your local club or in a low-gravity environment 238,900 miles away.

While most of us won't face lies quite as strange as the dusty craters of the moon, every round presents its own set of challenges. Sometimes you're stuck behind a tree or facing a lie you've never seen before, and getting expert advice right then and there can feel impossible. That's where we believe technology can help. With our Caddie AI, you can snap a photo of your ball's lie, and we’ll instantly analyze the situation and suggest the smartest way to play it - giving you the confidence to adapt to any tough spot on the course.