I had a lovely time last week speccing out and 'playing' MoonGolfHole #4 in St Albans with Jon Spooner:
Jon is one of life's natural moongolfers as this video proves:
It turns out that the route we took maps onto the moon quite well, so that's one more hole sorted for when we finally get out on the lunar course:
Jon, by the way, is probably nearer the dream of getting into space than I am, damn him. And thanks to the organisation he belongs to - UNSA - it looks like he's going be taking a lot more people with him than I will.
At the moment, Jon is attending the International Astronautical Congress in CapeTown (yes, that's how serious he is) and it turns out he's keen to spec out MoonGolfHole #5 while he's there! Obviously, I have given him my full support, and even sorted him out with a letter of recommendation, just in case anyone out there doesn't quite take him seriously.
Below is the proposed layout of the hole which Jon is hoping to play tomorrow (Thurs 6th Oct) at 2pm local time. If you're at the conference, do try and make it. And remember - DON'T LEAVE SPACE TO THE PROFESSIONALS.
"Preparing for life and leisure on the moon whilst being stuck here on earth is a tricky and sometimes odd business. But the MoonGolf mission is all about playing & preparing for something seemingly silly & impossible.
I sense you are someone who understands the importance of silliness and impossible dreams. All great space travellers (and invaders) understand this too, I think!
For these reasons, I am very happy to endorse the creation of MoonGolfHole #5 (CapeTown). I have studied the map of the terrain very closely and have drawn out my recommendations for a teeing-off point, a ‘green’ and a ‘hole’. Quite how many strokes it will take you to complete this hole is for you and your fellow players to discover.
Remember, it is very important that you recruit as many fellow players as you can, and that you use your time together to walk the course, sharing with each other as you go your dreams and ambitions, your thoughts about how we all might play our way into the future.
Please do record as much of your conversations as possible, map the hole and send me any ‘findings’ that come out of your game in terms of how to keep the amateur spirit of play alive: the amateur spirit that will eventually fire me (and maybe you) to the moon!"
