Palmer opens new course at North Carolina State

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Arnold Palmer sent a wedge shot about 50 yards down the driving range to open the golf course he designed at North Carolina State University.

Palmer appeared at a ceremony Friday marking the opening of the $12 million Lonnie Poole Golf Course, a par-71 layout on N.C. State's campus that measures 7,358 yards.

The course offers views of Raleigh's skyline and is the first built inside the city's Interstate 440 beltline since 1948. It will be used by the school's turfgrass program and the Wolfpack's golf teams.

Chancellor Jim Woodward called the course "a tremendous asset for N.C. State but maybe even more importantly, a tremendous asset for this state and region."