Sports in Bardstown

Rated a top-10 course in Louisville by ESPN, Tanglewood Golf Course guides strokes over 200 acres of Kentucky countryside. Wide fairways roll through regions of dense forestation, complicating club selection with rapid changes in elevation and testing the endurance of each player who dares climb its undulations or somersault down its hills. Water comes into play on seven holes, including the picturesque fourth, which doglegs to the right and dares big hitters to muscle their way onto the green in one shot. Back-to-back par 5s in holes 13 and 14 give bold thwackers ample opportunity for scores below par, whereas the 185-yard, uphill 15th can easily add back those strokes for anyone who doesn't choose enough club for its par 3 expanse.

Prior to a round, players can gain familiarity with the range's practice green.

Golf combines the complex intermingling of physics and coordination to a level no exoskeleton-toting evil genius has been able to harness at his underground volcano lair. Designed by renowned golf-course architect David Pfaff, Quail Chase Golf Course boasts a picturesque terrain spotted with lush trees, kempt greens, and pop-out shooting-range targets. As Louisville’s only 27-hole championship regulation course, Quail Chase challenges golfers with water hazards, sculpted white-sand bunkers, and an expertly planned layout devoted to elevating the level of play.

An 18-hole, par 72 golf course undulates across the grounds of Glenmary Country Club. The front nine showcase picturesque holes six and seven, both par 4 and nestled into woods with lush foliage framing each fairway like a leafy, squirrel-infested beard. With a large water hazard guarding the 12th hole, golfers aim to vault their shots over the water and onto the green using a 9-iron, wedge, or T-shirt cannon. Before hitting the links, warm up short games at the course's pitching and putting greens or at one of its two outdoor bays for driving.

A good golf swing has many moving parts, from gripping the club correctly and to the smooth follow-through. For more than 14 years, LPGA teaching professional Brenda Daniels has fine-tuned those parts at Quail Chase Golf Club—a 27-hole championship course hemmed into Louisville's scotch pine and dogwood trees. As the facility's head instructor, Brenda leads lessons to help dissect the swings of both youth and adult golfers. To this end, she often utilizes slow-motion video analysis, which allows her to pinpoint flaws in the swing. Brenda also helms a number of special programs, including camps for kids, clinics for adults, and ladies-only sessions of Golf 101.

Strong Hold Climbing Gym at Hester's Family Fitness beckons to rock clingers of all skill levels with more than 4,000 square feet of top-rope routes, bouldering, and peerless climbing classes. With padded floors throughout, Strong Hold's crew of climbers can scale the multicolored routes with no fear of hard falls, and Strong Hold equips each climber with the harness, shoes, and cliff-badger bait necessary for topping its walls. Introductory classes, taught by master stone whisperers, cover the basics of rope work, proper knots, and the techniques required for pulling on slopers or crimps.

Home to an event on the 1990 and 1991 Ben Hogan Tours, Pine Valley Golf Resort's challenging par 72 or 73 course touts 6,644 yards of Bermuda fairways and bentgrass greens. After warming up with two buckets of balls at the driving range—which is conveniently defenseless, lacking both sand traps and golf-ball-eating caddies—players can head out to the natural rolling terrain and demand a fun and challenging round from the scenic course, which is sprinkled with tranquil lakes, oxygen, and a covered bridge. As hauling a golf bag around all day can be tiring, Pine Valley will provide golfers with a motorized cart for stylishly puttering from hole to hole.