RALEIGH - Arnold Palmer stepped onto a temporary tee box Monday, took four light practice swings and grimaced: "I'm too old for this." Then the 77-year golfing icon belted about a 240-yard drive straight down the middle of rough-hewn terrain that eventually will become the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on N.C. State's Centennial Campus.

His ceremonial shot launched the building by Palmer Course Design Company of a rolling, 7,025-yard, par-71 layout, a public facility and future home of the Wolfpack golf teams.

Poole, a State graduate and successful Raleigh businessman, and his wife, Carol Lynn, donated $3 million toward construction of the $11.6 million course, which has been on the drawing board 20 years and is scheduled to open in the spring of 2009.

A battalion of "Arnie's Army'' -- which included 450 university officials, local dignitaries and Wolfpack fans -- gathered under a tent at the course site around noon, gave Palmer a standing ovation and "oohed" at his tee shot.

Though long past his prime -- when he won 62 PGA titles, including seven majors, and spawned America's golfing boom -- Palmer's personality still radiates and his name still resonates.

"I won't talk too much about Wake Forest football,'' joked Palmer, who grew up in Latrobe, Pa., and became an All-America with the Deacons when the campus was in the town of Wake Forest.

N.C. State chancellor James Oblinger tried to convert Palmer, presenting him with a red Wolfpack shirt. He also was given a lifetime N.C. State Alumni membership plaque.

Ever affable, Palmer smiled and flashed State's wolf sign. His charisma and tanned countenance -- even his famous frown -- have charmed galleries worldwide.

Approaching his 78th birthday (Sept. 10), Palmer isn't about to be grounded. He piloted his personal jet to North Carolina, where his ties are widespread and memories many. His daughter, Pam Palmer Wears, lives in Durham. He has also helped design several courses throughout the state.

Asked about golfing here during his college days, he said, joking: "I played all over Raleigh, and I went to Meredith once or twice, too."

Though conquering golf courses was his biggest thrill, designing courses -- about 300 since 1962 -- is a continuing passion. This is his first layout on a college campus. Company architects, Erik Larsen and Brandon Johnson, both N.C. State graduates, will assume major responsibility for the project, but Palmer promised to stay involved.

"We will make something all of you will be proud of,'' promised Palmer, who also plans to remodel the Old Town course that Wake Forest's golf team can use. "It's very important to build golf courses for colleges. My chore is to help do as much of that as I can."

For N.C. State, the chore of recruiting and practicing should become much easier with the Palmer touch. The Pack has fielded strong teams playing at area clubs while men's coach Richard Sykes kept telling prospects the school planned to have its own course.

"This lets people know I wasn't lying; I just got my time line wrong,'' cracked Sykes, who has guided the Pack for 36 years.

At State, the course will benefit more than just the 250 charter partnership club members, Pack players and weekend golfers trying to bust par. It will enhance the university's professional golf management and turf management programs, plus provide opportunities for teaching, research and environmental testing.

"There will be a whole array of research, and we will extend that information, everything we learn, into the industry," said Oblinger, who thanked the Poole family and will continue marching in "Arnie's Army."

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