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40 years ago today (July 20), man first walked on the moon. Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin spent several hours on the moon setting up scientific experiments that will long outlast mankind.

But it wasn’t until February 3, 1972 that the first golf shot was made on the moon. That shot came during the Apollo 14 moon mission that was launched on January 31, 1971.

47-year-old Alan Shepard  (the first American in space) and Ed Mitchell (a veteran of the Gemini program) spent 33 1/2 hours on the moon, nine hours and 23 minutes of it trudging about on the surface in deep, shifting lunar dust.

Their final major task was to hike up the side of a crater pushing, towing and manhandling a cumbersome cart bearing tools and compartments for geological samples.

It was heavy, joyless and tiring work and, along with a pressing deadline and lack of sleep, Shepard and Mitchell grew “irritable.” They muttered mild expletives from time to time, something that had seldom happened before on prior moon walks when the whole world was listening.

But when the work was finished, Shepard pulled out two golf balls (Titleists?) and unfolded a collapsible golf club specially made for him. Despite thick gloves and a stiff suit that forced him to swing the club with one hand only, he became the first ever to hit golf shots on the moon.  Following is the dialog between the two astronauts, their orbiting partner (Stuart Roosa in the Command Module) and Houston Control.

Excerpt is from transcript of communication (from http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a14/a14.clsout2.html):

135:08:17 Shepard:
(Facing the TV) Houston, while you’re looking that up, you might recognize what I have in my hand as the handle for the contingency sample return; it just so happens to have a genuine six iron on the bottom of it. In my left hand, I have a little white pellet that’s familiar to millions of Americans. I’ll drop it down. Unfortunately, the suit is so stiff, I can’t do this with two hands, but I’m going to try a little sand-trap shot here. (Pause)

Jones (Houston) – “He topped and buried it on the first swing. I assume that the six-iron was snuck on board.”]

Mitchell – “In his suit pocket.” (The suits each had a utility pocket on the left thigh. During the EVA, Al and Ed wore a larger, strap-on pocket on the left thigh)

135:08:53 Mitchell:
You got more dirt than ball that time.

135:08:58 Shepard:
Got more dirt than ball. Here we go again. (Al’s second swing pushes the ball about 2 or 3 feet, mostly along the line toward the TV camera, rather than along the line of the swing.)

135:09:01 Fred Haise (Houston):
That looked like a slice to me, Al.

135:09:03 Shepard:
Here we go. Straight as a die; one more. (Long Pause) (his third swing finally connects and sends the ball off-camera to the right, apparently on a fairly low trajectory. He drops a second ball, which rolls left and toward the TV camera. Al gets himself in position and connects again. The trajectory of this shot appears to be similar to the previous one.)

135:09:20 Shepard:
Miles and miles and miles.

135:09:26 Haise:
Very good, Al.

Watch and listen here:  http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a14/a14v.1350811.ram

Alan Shepard passed away on July 21, 1998. But he will forever be remembered as the first golfer on the moon!

Whether you can or cannot shape shots, it something you’ve got to do to shoot in the 70s. We all know that of course.

I wonder what brand of ball this guy plays?

But talk about shaping a shot!  This image was sent to us by Nancy K. while traveling to Wyoming from California. It was shot in Hole in the Wall, Utah and the sculptor is Lyle Nichols. Check out his website for more great work (www.lylenichols.com).

All I can say is Mr. Nichols must have an “iron” will to be able to work the way he works! And thanks Nancy…

Since as far back as I can remember, most golf courses have had some manner of dress code. Country clubs / private courses rarely if ever allow denim or t-shirts and some don’t allow shorts. Even most public courses don’t allow tank tops or playing shirtless. Every course I’ve ever played insists on shoes being worn.

Now that we know what we can or cannot wear, one question demands to be asked. Is the current trend of pastel colors appropriate for golf?

You see, I’m getting downright disgusted with what some pros wear. I hate the style the game’s leading clothiers are attempting to shove down our throats by dressing popular pros in foppish colors.

Is there any wonder why pro golfers are seen by some as non-athletes when they wear what they wear? How can they be taken seriously when they’re wearing pink, canary yellow, violet or lime green?

What self-respecting man would wear what Camillo Villegas, Sergio Garcia or even (at times) Phil Mickelson wears?

Pink shirts with white bell-bottom pants sitting below the waist and being held up by a 3″ white belt and a gawd-awful belt buckle! Are these people in so need of attention that they have to dress like a circus clown
or Boy George? Is their ability to knock a golf ball 300+ yards down the fairway and make a 25-foot putt for birdie not enough?

Pink isn’t even the most offending color! Big John Daly – trying to come back from a long PGA ban – looked like a  citrus tree radiating with nuclear energy with what he was wearing in Spain. (John – if you’re trying to legitimize yourself, take a gander in the mirror before heading outside.)

While I can appreciate the fitness regimen that many golfers endure, I can’t fathom how wearing plaid bell-bottoms, all white shoes, a snug-fitting polyester polo shirt and a “fashion” painter’s cap can make
anyone – let alone Villegas, Ian Poulter or Ryo Ishikawa – think they’re attractive or – *gulp!* – masculine.

Villegas is a stud and a bona fide player to boot. But his fashion sense makes Elton John envious. Poulter has the ability to win majors – and maybe he would if he’d stop thinking about taking a walk down the fashion aisle! I’ll give Ryo a break ’cause he’s only 17; but if he’s still wearing sparkling blue and teal outfits with red and black spiked hair next year… well, lets just say he’ll be nominated as president of the George Michael Fan Club.

Poor Phil Mickelson. It’s obvious he has a bit of a weight problem (hey, who doesn’t?) but he insists on wearing form-fitting shirts and pants that sit too low on his somewhat flabby body. He looks downright silly – almost like his mother bought him the clothes and he HAS to wear them. At least he’s not wearing pastel or bright colors. Gotta give him a point or two for that!

I’ll also applaud any golfer wearing pink in support of cancer research. But if they’re wearing pink because it matches their daily wardrobe, then they need to go watch some John Wayne and Ahnuld Shwarzeneggar movies for a boost of testosterone.

Not everyone can have Tiger’s physique – then again not everyone can have most of what he has. But I gotta give him his due for dressing like a man. Conservative pants, unobtrusive belt and buckle and normal shirts. Even his cap is normal. Here’s a guy that is above normal in the world of golf and he dresses like many of us do for work.

I used to laugh at Payne Stewart and his knickers. But at least he was wearing them as a dedication to the game. Payne was a class act and he played guitar with a championship caliber game to boot! He was one-of-a-kind and continues to be missed.

The crap that’s being worn by so many golfers now, hearkens back to the 70s and 80s… remember some of those wardrobes Nicklaus, Watson, Norman, Trevino and Johnny Miller used to wear? They were awful in that era and they’re just as terrible now. I have to ask why anyone would want to wear clothes like that.

I thought Jesper Parnevik was a train wreck a few years ago. Now he’s almost the picture of conservative dress. Almost. I can’t stand it.

Can you imagine going to work in white pants and a tight-fitting lime green polo shirt? With a zipper instead of buttons!? Can you imagine wearing an outfit like that and not getting laughed off your home course?

I guess this is the course golf has taken… it started in Scotland with men wearing kilts. Now the game is played the world-over by men wearing skin-tight, fuschia-colored shirts with zippers, yellow and brown bell-bottomed pants, peace-symbol belt buckles on a lilac 3″ belt and pure all white golf shoes.

Jeeze… Ben Hogan is rolling over in his grave and I’m gonna vomit!

Welcome to AverageJoeGolf!

There are various terms for the average joe golfer – duffer, hacker, weekend warrior – but all of them pretty much describes the golfer who shoots in the 80s to 100s and wishes to get better.

AJs watch instructional videos, buy impact bags and putting tools, take lessons from “scratch golfer-friends” and hit countless buckets of balls at whatever golf range they can get to on a periodic basis.

Instead of focusing on the Tigers, Phils and Natalies of the world and the courses they play, we’re going to focus on everyday working people and the muni courses we look forward to playing.

But what’d be nice to know is where I can go that won’t break my bank account and that might not require an overnight stay. I’m talking primarily public courses. AJ’s don’t typically play private courses so there’s no reason to even list them. What I’m looking for are courses with amenities, beauty, layout, pace of play, ease to get to (let’s say one or two day trips), etc. for a reasonable rate. Say $100 or less per round.

Now I know members of the Northern California Golf Association (which I am) can play Poppy Hills (one of the Monterey Peninsula’s golf gems) and Poppy Ridge fairly cheaply. But an 18-hole rate for a non-NCGA member is considerably higher than $100 which removes Poppy Hills / Poppy Ridge from inclusion in this list.

I only want courses that AJ’s can play without permanent injury to one’s bank account.

Over the years I’ve subscribed to or purchased just about every golf magazine known to mankind and I always laugh at the travel sections. I mean how many Average Joe’s (AJ) out there can afford to spend $400 / night for a room and then another $200-$300 for a round of golf? And that’s after paying airfare or gas or whatever to get “where you’re going!”

Hell yeah those courses are beautiful and yeah I’d like to play ‘em but I’m certainly not going to plunk down $1,000 or more for a two-day getaway to Florida or North Carolina or California or New Zealand or Vietnam or Ireland to play a round or two of golf. Nah, that ain’t gonna happen. I just can’t afford it.

This then – among other topics like reviews, how-to’s, anecdotes, etc – is what AverageJoeGolf.net has to offer you… the Average Joe Golfer!