Things to Do in Highland Park

At Benthic Scuba Center, a PADI Five-Star Development Center, a knowledgeable staff draws on more than 40 years of collective experience as they unlock the ocean's depths for seafaring visitors. Certified instructors lead all levels in dive courses such as Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver, and Air Diver Specialty. In addition to instructing divers, the centre also houses a vast selection of diving gear from top brands including Sherwood Scuba, Poseidon, and Oceanic, and loans rental equipment ranging from wetsuits and hoods to gauges and rubber duckies. The staff can also repair and maintain equipment to ensure safe aqueous excursions.

Open year round, Hydeaway Golf Club's 18-hole, par 71 course unfurls across 130 acres of kempt fairways framed by trees and tranquil ponds. Water hazards come into play on more than half of the holes, creating strategic quandaries such as when to attempt to carry a distant pond and how to tell if provocative messages in a bottle were intended for you. Tall tree lines further complicate golfers' passage, stretching out their twiggy arms in a quenchless desire to scuff up dimpled orbs. Golfers can choose to loop the emerald links on their own bipedal steam or enlist a GasCar golf cart to help hunt down errant balls or misplaced playing partners.

Appreciation begins with understanding. PRP Wine International helps its clients become true connoisseurs by introducing them to the culture surrounding fine wines from around the world. Private and public tasting events allow guests to learn more about artisanal fermentation from the company's impassioned consultants. They pour small samples of wine from around the world while explaining each wine's general characteristics or more nuanced traits. In addition to laying a foundation that helps visitors appreciate the process of tasting new varietals, the consultants also explain how to properly pair wine with food or scratch-and-sniff stickers.

Low-stress education remains a priority at PRP Wine International, but the company also boasts a curated selection of wines from Germany, France, and Italy, as well as an assortment of bottles and glassware that customers can order with custom etching.

PGA pro Alex Macko propagates sound pin-hunting form from his post at Jawor's Golf Center, which fosters year-round practice with indoor and outdoor training areas. Alex can demystify the subtle mechanics of the golf swing at the center's 44-tee driving range, which features 14 covered, heated stalls that enable practice sessions during inclement weather. With clubs and apparel from brands such as Callaway, TaylorMade, and Titleist, the full-service pro shop offers equipment upgrades as well as repair services for club shafts snapped by players who mistakenly teed up a bocce ball. Two outdoor, 18-hole mini-golf courses buttress the facility, inviting players to work on their putting form as life-size cartoon characters break the tension after a missed gimme or a dispute about whether or not an abandoned shoe is an acceptable ball marker.

Since 2002, the instructors at Hazel Park Learn to Skate have honed hockey-skating abilities and figure-skating techniques throughout the year, regardless of outdoor temperatures. They hold court inside the Hazel Park Municipal Viking Arena, allowing students of all ages to get acquainted with a full-size, well-maintained surface. Figure-skating sessions follow the U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills curriculum, whereas the hockey curriculum focuses on speed and agility, allowing athletes to win the referee's favor without learning how to care for his orchid patch. Basic-skills courses provide beginners with fundamentals required for progressing into specialized skating areas. For preschool-aged skaters, Snowplow Sam sessions help develop the basic coordination and strength necessary to maneuver on the ice.

A steel-encased solar system of gun ranges, firearms retail, and educational classrooms stands within the 10,000-square-foot indoor facility of Action Impact Range. In the range, safety officers enforce the rules and regulations while assisting shooters, who lock and load in one of 14 computerized firing lanes and unleash a hailstorm of ammo from the retail store on paper targets. Every 60 seconds, a military-grade ventilation system sweeps through the firestorm to completely exchange the range's air, ridding it of contaminants discharged from guns and softly whispered one-liners from Schwarzenegger films.

Action Impact Range is the domain of Bill Kucyk, an NRA–certified and law-degree-toting former lawman who spent 29 years commanding a detective bureau, conducting special investigations, and serving on the SWAT team. His years of expertise lend a wealth of knowledge to both classes on carrying concealed weapons and online educational videos, which offer safe, legal guidance to gun enthusiasts.