During my latest adventure to the mountain time zone I had the opportunity to be at the new Greg Norman design called Cornerstone located in Montrose, CO. I stayed at the facility for roughly two (2) days and had the good fortune in playing the golf course with the Director of Golf there Mark Wood.
I've played a number of other Greg Norman courses -- notably the likes of Doonbeg, Red Sky Ranch, Wente Vineyards, Shark's Tooth, Champions Gate, GC at Lansdowne, The Great White at Doral, Norman Course at PGA West, Tiburon and TPC Sugarloaf.
Cornerstone has some of the most striking overall scenery of any course you can play in Colorado -- the views can stretch in excess of 100 miles -- likely even more on the clearest of days. The layout is set on a high plateau and the course is a good drive from the main road from town (550). You just keep on climbing and climbing until you get to the property.
Cornerstone is a fine evolution in the design portfolio of Greg Norman. A number of the key dimensions one sees with nearby Red Sky Ranch in Wolcott can be seen at Cornerstone. One thing definitely is evident at Cornerstone -- the greens are blazing fast and I was told can be even faster during main club events. How fast? I am talking about a minimum of 12 on a Stimp.
Norman doesn't clutter up his greens at Cornerstone -- they are free flowing and allow for a range of shot to be played -- including a ground component which in a number of ways works quite well.
The faciility is roughly at 8-9,000 feet above sea level so the overall distance of 7,945 yards needs to be understood from that dimension. The course plays to a 76.9 CR and 142 SL from the tips. From the member tees the distance drops to 7,287 (again you have to factor in the 8-10% altitude adjustment -- the CR is more manageable at 73.5 and a more comfortable 138 slope.
Cornerstone provides ample width for the tee game -- but there are a few holes -- which I will outline shortly -- that require you to think carefully on how tight a line you wish to play. The thing that makes Cornerstone so special given the other Norman layouts I have played is that the movement of the property dictates plenty of your strategic choices. What I mean is that you need to know where the pin is located on the green and then calculate what is the best angle to come in from ... at the same time the ground movements put a good bit more pressure on you because getting to those positions is no small feat.
One of the drawbacks at Cornerstone is the lack of a really solid short or mid-rage par-4. No doubt Greg wanted to make sure there was enough muscle but I would have liked to see him include such a hole -- he did so on the par-3 front with the solid par-3 9th which maxes out at 150 yards.
I'll provide more info shortly on the other elements of the course. I know a few other GCA folks have played the course and likely they can provide some additional thoughts as well.