The beautiful Black Rock Country Club is a development created to serve the needs of the South Shore section of Eastern Massachusetts. The golf community is a 380-acre, rolling woodland master planned luxury golf and residential community located in Hingham, Massachusetts, located 15 miles south of downtown Boston. One of the oldest towns in America, Hingham is known as the Jewel of the South Shore.

?EUR??,,??The development was designed by 1999 Architect-of-the-Year Brian Silva of Cornish, Silva & Mungeam,?EUR??,,?? Jim Read, Read Development, explained. ?EUR??,,??The 6,950-yard, par 72 championship18-hole layout combines the dramatic rock features and natural woodlands to create a unique golf experience. The links style layout with rolling hills and mounds and a quarry layout on four or five holes with 10-20 foot high granite walls along fairways and greens. Pave stone cart paths, extensive practice areas, pro shop, and luxury locker rooms complete the experience.?EUR??,,??

The land was originally a 100 year old quarry site and 3.8 million cubic yards of concrete rock have been excavated. The raw materials were recycled into the downtown Boston Central Artery project. Known as The Big Dig, it is the largest and most comprehensive road construction project in U.S. history. Additionally, a large quantity of the fill on the golf course was backhauled from the central artery project. To determine the development for the quarry site, the Black Rock land development discovered a need for an upscale community.

?EUR??,,??The stunning course layout intermingles the quarry holes, links holes and traditional New England holes to give the player a unique golf experience,?EUR??,,?? Cianciosi said. ?EUR??,,??The cart paths meander throughout the course and it was important that they be in harmony with the overall course design. The City Stone Heritage Series, which is a tumbled array of various sized square and rectangular stones were selected. A tan/brown/pewter color blend was specified and installed in a repeating pattern, end-to-end. Circular patterns were installed in some areas as decorative accents. The color was selected because it ties into the natural rock landscape that surrounds the fairways and the buildings of the club.?EUR??,,??

In addition to the aesthetic value, the pave stones were selected because of the ease of installation, low-maintenance, and cost-savings features. The many paved areas include the entire golf course paths and cart turn-about areas, on the veranda around the clubhouse areas around the tennis courts, walkways and other recreation areas. The installation pattern specified allowed for install efficiency. The pattern requires very little stone cutting in the cart path installation. A predetermined width of the cart with subtle directional changes requires no cuts. A slight turning of the pave stone is all that was required.

Easily removed for underground irrigation of utility repairs, the concrete pave stones are virtually maintenance free. Because the concrete pave stones conduct less heat than asphalt and some components are made from recycled materials, they are more environmentally friendly than the other considerations.

Phase II

The Residences at Black Rock consist of 138 townhomes designed by CBT Architects of Boston. The luxurious homes offer an exquisite blend of elegance and warmth. The homes are reminiscence of traditional New England homes with traditional cedar shingled roofs and richly landscaped grounds enhanced by the charm of tumbled pavestone driveways.

The community is designed to offer year-around recreational amenities. These include an outdoor pool, five tennis courts and a year round, 9,000 sf fitness facility. The tennis court design is accented with a segmental retaining wall in the same natural color blend as the pave stones. The City Stone paving stones paths provide outdoor scenic exploration and enjoyment for all seasons such as walking, jogging, or biking.

The process

The developers, also members of the community, completed a world-class country club development. It was important to create a development that is an approved capital expenditure designed to last a generation and be easy to maintain. The process of taking the former quarry to the luxurious development that it is today required a systematic approach. Reseach of the area determined the need for the upscale community. All possible paving materials were looked at for a budgetary cost-comparison based on a 30-year life cycle. Considerations also included color and pattern, maintenance issues, load bearing and vehicle frequency as well as ease of installation. Once paving stones were selected as the material of choice, colors and pattern schemes were reviewed.

Pavestone?EUR??,,??s Cianciosi created several mock-up patterns for selection and critique. Then, a trial area for installation was completed at the site. The desired base design and pave stone thickness were calculated based on existing soil conditions, axle loads, pedestrian traffic, and drainage conditions. The base and bedding sand was reviewed as well as the method of pave stone installation. Several edge restraints were also tested prior to the actual installation.

?EUR??,,??Nominated by Golfer?EUR??,,??s Digest as ?EUR??,,??Golf Course of the Year,?EUR??,,???EUR??,,?? the entire development is an extraordinary natural beauty,?EUR??,,?? Greg Read, Title/Company said. ?EUR??,,??It is nestled among the granite hillsides and piney woods in the heart of historic Hingham. The pave stone color reflects the natural fieldstone color hues in ledgerock. It?EUR??,,??s truly an unparrelled beauty.?EUR??,,??