On today's date 36 years ago, Alan Shepard (the first American in space, of course) became the first person to golf on the moon He and another astronaut on the Apollo 14 mission, Ed Mitchell, had spent over nine hours trudging the moon's surface. It was a physically difficult task but when the work was finished, Shepard pulled out two golf balls and a collapsible golf club made for the flight. Wearing thick gloves and a bulky and stiff suit, he was forced to swing the club with only one hand. Nevertheless, Shepard reported that the ball traveled "miles and "miles, which he later amended to 200 to 400 yards. Gravity did play a factor!!

Alan Shepard, who died in 1998, is one of our native sons from East Derry, New Hampshire. He was a combination of a serious career man and a fun-loving guy. Your can read more about him in the book Light this Candle: the Life and Times of Alan Shepard, America's First Spaceman by Neal Thompson. And a good website to find more information about Alan Shepard is CNN's story Alan Shepard was 'a pretty cool customer'.

Our library has several materials about space missions and astronauts. We also, of course, have a large variety of materials about golf including such new selections as:

The Greatest Game Ever Played [DVD}, which is "based on the 1913 U.S. Open golf championship-at which two equally sympathetic young men, both of whom grew up economically and socially disadvantaged, go club to club in one of the most exciting and dramatic athletic events of the 20th century",

Golf Magazine Private Lessons : the Best of the Best Iinstruction edited by]David Dusek,

The Art of Putting : the Revolutionary Feel-based System for Improving Your Score by Stan Utley with Matthew Rudy,

An Idiot for All Seasons by David Feherty, a collection of hilarious columns from Golf Magazine.

So swing away, but perhaps not "miles and miles" as you could in space.