A Piece Of Paradise In Colorado

Courtesy of Jonathan Maness
Montrose Daily Press

MONTROSE - Nestled on the edge of the Uncompahgre Plateau, surrounded by aspen trees and scrub oak sits not just a golfer's paradise, but a golf course that even Mother Nature would appreciate.

Cornerstone held its official grand opening on July 5, 2008.

With stunning views of the San Juan and West Elk mountains, Greg Norman-designed Cornerstone Club golf course not only gives golfers of all levels over 8,000 yards of challenge -- it brings the natural environment into play on each hole.

"When Greg was designing Cornerstone he wanted to disturb the natural environment as little as possible," said Sean Tannehill, the Head Golf Pro at Cornerstone. "This is what makes this golf course special."

Throughout the course, nature comes into play, with aspens, sage brush and ravines dotting areas of the course.

Even the plateau makes it challenging for golfers to maneuver through the greens.

Cornerstone held its official grand opening on July 5 and gave its members a chance to play on all 18 holes. The course will also hold a few tournaments later in August, starting with its Men's Member-Guest Cornerestone Cup.

Members were given a preview of the course last summer when only nine holes were completed and open, but with the entire course complete its easy to see why the course has a big future.

"It's a great course," said Jim Mikula, Cornerstone's General Manager. "We have great views and some very challenging holes."

With so many different photogenic holes on the course, it's hard to find just one hole to call a signature hole. However, Cornerstone's Director of Golf Mark Woods said his favorite hole is No. 8, a 500-yard par 4.

"An aspen-lined fairway with a great view of the other side of the valley, No. 8 is my favorite hole," Woods said. "It seems like a daunting task to put your ball on the green with your second shot but any ball that carries the bunker has the ability to roll down off the of the hug collar onto the narrow green."

Cornerstone is more than a golf course, though.

With 6,000 acre development that stretches into both Montrose and Ouray counties, it offers both one-fourth acre lots, as well as over 100 acre lots for ranches.