How Could Golf Change in a Low-Gravity Environment?
Low gravity golf was invented by Alan Shepard in 1971 when he hit two golf balls 40 yards on the moon.
Surprisingly, this version of the sport with little atmosphere and much lower gravity, is the most common that will be played on the planets in the solar system that are already top candidates for human settlement.
- 0.4 g : Mars
- 0.2 g : The Moon, Triton
- 0.1 g : Callisto, Ganymede, Eris, Makemake, Pluto
- 0.02 g : Haumea, Ceres
Shepard's disappointing drive has more to do with the lack of a comfortable suit.
Other than longer drives, how could the sport of golf change in the future, as the sport spreads across the solar system?
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Golf morphs into a multiple players action sport
Nothing could be more boring than watching one person hit a small ball, then trudging after it while wearing trés chic golf pants and visored caps.
Imagine eleven players in a row like at a driving range. Each of them has colored balls. After they hit it, they have to run to be first at the ball again. Tackling is allowed but the club has to be tucked to the back before being allowed to run. Also they have to directly run towards the ball, not anywhere they want to... but they can deliberately chose to hit their ball to a beneficial position to tackle the opponent.
All of that in low-gravity... At some point of low-G, if they swing at the ball, they will be lifted upwards and spin instead of staying with both feet on the ground.
The terrain has multiple obstacles, barbed wires, wooden gauntlet like structures, high towers, water ditches and swampy/muddy areas, and all the mean things you can make up.
The first who can put the ball into the hole with the lowest number of strokes wins.
It'll be rough. It'll be action. It'll be f u n !
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Most likely golf's influence is going to be narrow, and possibly contained in one planet where it is part of their culture.
If that one planet where golf is a culture manages to colonize the other than there is a pertinent question on that which would be, it's not golf anymore it's a variant of golf.
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