So you don’t make a fool of yourself on world news (I’m looking at you, Kristie Lu Stout).
When Deke Slayton hit a golf ball on the Moon, it went much farther than it would have on Earth. This was not a gravity-defying stunt! That is what gravity does; it is directly proportional to mass, so a golf ball is attracted to the Moon less strongly than it would be to the Earth because the Earth is much bigger. (Also, denser, if I remember correctly. And it’s more proper to say they are attracted to each other, but the Moon doesn’t move noticeably and I’m trying not to confuse you here.)
Also? When you say, “I bet I could hit a golf ball really far in zero-gravity too!” you are actually correct. However, some of your viewers, the ones who stayed awake in class, may not be amused by the implication that the Moon is a zero-G environment. For convenience, we use the notation 1 G as being one Earth gravity – that is, as strong as the force of gravity at the Earth’s surface. The gravitational force at the Moon’s surface is approximately 1/6 G. There’s a big difference between zero and 1/6, which you can very easily see because the golf ball came back down.
Please. That was just embarassing. (I do really appreciate your coverage of both today’s Shuttle launch and the upcoming anniversary of the first Lunar landing, though. Thanks for that. Just … get it right next time, huh?)