Things to Do in Chalco

Fox Run Golf Club prides itself as a course that challenges boundaries. From a design perspective, it represents the two different architectural models of golf courses, at points immersing golfers in a wooded, parkland setting and, elsewhere, challenging them to display deft control over an open, links-style layout. A semiprivate club, Fox Run also eliminates the barrier between public courses and members-only clubs, inviting daily fee players and members alike to enjoy manicured grounds worthy of an exclusive club or a course covered in Persian rugs. Measuring 6,200 yards from the back tees, the layout provides four tee options from which golfers can play. On the driving range, players can calibrate their swings while aiming at 11 targets equipped with Laser Link flagsticks, which ensure that distances are accurately measured and also to make sure pins don’t run away to pursue careers as javelins. Off the course, guests can relax in The Den at Fox Run, which serves up drinks and casual grill food.

Elkhorn Ridge Golf Course’s nine-hole, par 3 layout provides a forgiving environment for beginners just taking up the sport and more seasoned players looking to polish their short-game finesse. Holes range from as short as the 95-yard fifth hole to as lengthy as the 173-yard seventh hole, the toughest on the course. Adding up to 1,203 yards overall, the course places a premium on iron accuracy as players bombard the greens and pins from a single set of tees.

As an HGTV-featured glass artist and author of the short story collection An Extraordinary Life: …Once You Take Out All of the Boring Crap, Kristi Pederson encourages individuals to embrace creativity. Adult and kids' art classes at her studio, Adventure in Art, focus on fun over perfectionism as Kristi teaches beginner-level students to create projects such as fused-glass ornaments and custom jewelry. And during Paint N Pour sessions, adults sip goblets of vino as they fill canvases with color and learn how Leonardo Da Vinci invented red wine by cleaning his brushes in chardonnay.

Amid the lime-green and burnt-orange walls of Creation Station, an encouraging staff inspires visitors to follow their artistic impulses as they use pottery as their canvas. Seven days a week, experienced and casual artists alike can plunge their brushes into a rainbow of paints and let loose on a variety of mugs, figurines, and dishes. Once colorized to the artist’s content, finished bisque pieces visit a fiery kiln, where colors become more vibrant and snowmen melt into carrot-and-coal soup. Revelers can also gather at Creation Station to celebrate special occasions, such as birthdays, or make Christmas ornaments during the winter season.

A gauntlet of hazards and omnipresent water reveals a pernicious design sure to challenge any golfer who traverses the picturesque fairways of the Knolls Golf Course. Players enjoy favorable lies when they stay within the verdant framework of rolling bluegrass fairways, yet those who venture astray may find themselves deep inside one of the 46 bunkers or secret caddy caves carved into the course. Four lakes and a river further complicate matters on 11 of 18 holes, culminating in the challenge on holes seven and nine, where a pond intersects the two doglegged fairways at their bends. The back nine presents a more arboreal affair, as players must steer their shots around tree-lined fairways and hope a fellow golfer isn't practicing golf-cart aerials on one of the frequent hills.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole course
• Total length of 6,149 yards from the back tees
• Three sets of tees per hole

Within one of the decorated party buses in Jone-Z Party Bus’s arsenal, up to 30 passengers clink glasses and celebrate weddings, bachelor parties, or Tuesdays on open, hourglass-style seating. A 2,400-watt sound system and custom lighting augment parties, which can start and end at agreed-upon locations such as homes or hotels so guests don’t have to worry about driving.