Norman Tours Cornerstone, Talks About Course
UNCOMPHGRE PLATEAU, Colo. -- Janie Trenary lined up her driver at the Cornerstone golf course Thursday. She pulled the club back and drove the ball down the center of the fairway, christening the new golf course.
Applause erupted.
"That felt good for not playing all summer," Trenary said.
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As part of the ceremony, Trenary got her driver signed by golf legend Greg Norman, who designed the course.
Cornerstone, a 6,000 acre development in both Montrose and Ouray counties, held a session with founding members of the golf course, Norman and the media at one of the recently completed holes. To play on the private course, members, including Trenary and her husband, bought property at Cornerstone and purchased a $75,000 membership at the golf club.
Throughout the summer, 150 Cornerstone employees and contractors have worked on the golf course and the exclusive development. Two of the holes are finished, and the company hopes that nine holes will be playable next spring.
"You don't get opportunities to get the terrain like we have here," Norman said.
With stunning views of the San Juan and West Elk mountains, the course is situated between 8,500 and 9,361 feet above sea level. Norman said he used the natural contours of the land and tried to minimize the disturbance to the environment.
"When you are working in terrain like this it can be tough," Norman said.
Three years ago, to understand the property, he and his design team toured the property in snowmobiles in the winter, when snow blanketed the land. He said the snow-covered property presented the drainages and the potential for the course.
"The snow really showed me the ground under here was perfect. ... You could see the golf course layout in the snow," Norman said.
Norman has visited the site numerous times during construction and said he made several minor changes during the visit Thursday. He added that his design team has done an excellent job of implementing the plan.
Tom Huesgen, Cornerstone golf superintendent, is pleased with construction of the course. He said the development's elevation and Colorado's unpredictable weather create challenges.
The plateau received several inches of snow during last week's early snow storm, and Huesgen does not know how much longer work can be done this year.
"You don't have a long window of time," Huesgen said, adding, "We are happy to have the good weather back."
Cold-weather grasses were selected for the course. The company installed sod in most of the fairways and grass seed on the greens. Huesgen said sod takes hold better in the cold environment and extends the season for installing grass.
The company stopped planting seed over the Labor Day weekend, and hopes to keep planting sod for a few more weeks.
He said Norman's design required very little extra soil. The greens were built on natural slopes and were not built up like other golf course.
"This is identical to the natural terrain," Huesgen said.
To challenge all golfers, the course has multiple tee boxes. One hole even has eight boxes, letting golfers choose the level of challenge.
"It is up to the player to decide (the distance); we give them that option," Norman said.
The course is also built longer because of the elevation. In the light air, the ball travels 10 to 15 percent farther. The course plays out at a distance of 7,921 yards on the championship tees.
Ravines, sand traps and aspen trees also create hazards for golfers.
Given the remote location, wildlife is a challenge. Visitors saw deer and wild turkey Thursday and elk and other wildlife inhabit the area. To help protect the wildlife and the natural environment, Cornerstone has 3,000 acres of open space and the golf course was spread out to create wildlife corridors.
"Elk and deer are part of working in the mountains," Huesgen said.
Norman added that the company worked with environmental groups to map out the wetland areas. The course was designed to avoid sensitive ecological areas, he said.
"If you work constructively with environmentalist and they work with you, the end product will be better," Norman said.
For now, the course is being irrigated with treated water from Tri-County. Cornerstone laid a water line up Government Springs Road to service the community, and that water is irrigating the course. Next year, the company will have a holding pond, which will be filled with treated water from a sewage treatment plant and snow runoff, reducing the need for treated water.
The company is also building a pro shop and has already constructed a meeting center called the Mountain Club.
Sales on the development are moving forward. Cornerstone got final approval for 46 lots in Ouray County last spring, and Brain Wallin, Cornerstone project manager, said the sales are going well.
Prices range from a $400,000 for a one-acre lot to $1.5 million for a 52-acre lot. Residents with larger lots can have horses on the land, and Cornerstone representatives said there has been strong demand for the horse stables.
Wallin said all of the construction this summer took place in Ouray County.
