Spacemen Cometh Again


Duffy And Terry Speak To Groups At Golf House


Brian Duffy, left, and Tim Terry answered a myriad of questions posed by children and adults.


By David Shefter, USGA
October 14, 2003
Far Hills, N.J. -- Brian Duffy and Tim Terry are avid golfers, but they did not visit Golf House on Tuesday to discuss birdies, chip shots or the proper way to extract a ball from a bunker.

Duffy, a retired NASA astronaut with four Space Shuttle missions to his résumé, and Terry, who is a flight simulation supervisor with United Space Alliance, came to Far Hills, N.J., to talk to sixth- and seventh-graders about life lessons learned while involved in the space program. The duo entertained two separate groups of students - 105 in the morning and 100 in the afternoon - from Somerset (N.J.) County schools with a pair of videos and a question-and-answer session. Later that evening, Duffy and Terry talked to 50 or so adults.

Duffy, now a vice president for Lockheed Martin Space Operations in Florida, and Terry first became involved with the USGA through the notorious "shuttle putter" incident. Prior to the 1996 Endeavour voyage, known in the space program as NASA mission STS-72, Terry, knowing Duffy's affliction with golf, arranged for a putter to be smuggled on board Endeavour. The crew surprised Duffy by presenting him the putter on the flight deck as the shuttle was orbiting Earth. A photo of Duffy holding the putter, with Earth in the background, was snapped.

Following the mission, Terry and Duffy decided to donate the putter to the USGA, which already had the "Moon Club" used by astronaut Alan Shepard on display in its Museum. Now the putter sits alongside Shepard's 6-iron.

"We want the kids to know that it's important to follow their dreams, no matter what they choose to do with their lives," said Duffy.

As part of the program, Terry showed the students a high-energy video about the space program. It was followed by a highlight video of Duffy's final mission aboard Discovery in October of 2000.

This was the duo's second visit to Golf House, following the initial trip in May of 2002.

"The kids asked some great questions," said Duffy. "They wanted to know what it felt like to be in space or if we were scared."

Duffy explained that the crew saw 16 sunsets and 16 sunrises every day.

While Terry never ventured into space, he met Duffy during the many training sessions the crews had prior to the missions. Although the two now live in different parts of the country - Terry in the Houston, Texas, area and Duffy in Cape Canaveral, Fla. - they stay in touch and occasionally get together on the golf course. The two managed to get in 54 holes of golf during this recent trip to Golf House.

"It's a lot of fun talking to these kids," said Terry, "especially at this age (11 and 12) because they haven't made up their minds of what they want to do (with their lives). We try to tell them if you have a passion, pursue it and that it's OK to fail along the way. You don't have to be a straight-A student or the best athlete. You have to have dreams and follow them to wherever it takes you."

And who knows, maybe one of these kids will someday carry their own golf club into space.

Alan Shepards moon shot poster is available at www.pubs.usga.com

David Shefter is a staff writer for the USGA. E-mail him at dshefter@usga.org with questions or comments.