WMC-TV 5 - Memphis, TNTimberlake opens Mirimichi golf course

Timberlake opens Mirimichi golf course

By Anna Marie Hartman - bio | email | Twitter | Facebook

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC-TV) - He's known for his moves on stage, but Friday, Justin Timberlake's playground was Mirimichi, a world class golf course near Millington recently purchased by the pop star and his parents.

"I enjoy being able to give back to the city," Timberlake said.  "Obviously, the city I grew up in has been so great to me and my family."

Friday, Timberlake hit the inaugural shot at Mirimichi, a place that holds a lot of sentiment in his family. It's where Timberlake hit his first golf ball and where his mother Lynn and stepfather Paul Harless married 25 years ago.

"It's all been a collaboration, and like I said, I don't want it to be like I came in here and invested Mirimichi, you know, Everybody has had a part," he said.

During Friday's opening festivities, Harless received an honorary proclamation from the city.  After a special assistant delivered Mayor Willie Herenton's last honorary declaration as mayor, Timberlake joked he would not join the crowded field of candidates gunning for the top spot at City Hall.

"I'd be the first to appoint my dad," he said.  "His record is way cleaner than mine."

Timberlake invested $16 million in the facility, the first in the nation to be certified as a "classic sanctuary" by Audubon International.

"I could care less about celebrity, this is where I grew up," he said.

Organizers said they hope Mirimichi will become known around the world. 

"When you've got JT involved, it's not just opening up another golf course," said Greg King, director of golf at Mirimichi. 

The course will open to the public on Saturday.

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