Things to Do in Maryland

Waverly Woods takes club-toting competitors careening through an emerald labyrinth of kempt fairways, towering tree lines, and boldly contoured greens designed by prolific course architect Arthur Hills. Begin a day filled with merciless divot-tearing and tender driver-coddling with a stint at the club's range, where a bag of 30 range balls rains like ballistic spheroids onto distant targets. Though the relatively challenging course features few sand traps and only one hole with threatening water hazards, ever-sloping topography and treacherous landforms filter imprecise shots into unfavorable lies that force off-balance side-hill stances. The course's difficulty is tempered by five sets of tees—with aggregate distances ranging from 4,808 to 7,024 yards—though bentgrass greens await duffers of any ilk with fast-breaking putts more difficult to read than a toddler’s attempt at calligraphy. After an exhilarating round, players can redeem their $20 lunch voucher for Black Angus hamburgers ($7.25), hot buffalo wings ($7.25 for 10) and other noshes from Waverly Woods' menu of savory grill fare.

Founded in 1951, Adventure Theatre MTC has been the longest-running children’s theater in the Washington area and has earned a mantel-overloading amount of awards throughout the decades. Alongside professional and student productions, the theatrical powerhouse hosts camps and workshops to expand the performance arts, instill the love of the stage in children, and help teens to act like they care about the SATs.

Attracting more than 170,000 art enthusiasts to its events in 2011, the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival showcases original work from hundreds of artisans showcasing everything from handcrafted pottery, sculpture, and metalwork to jewelry, fashion, décor, and photography. Audiences can witness art being made live during educational demonstrations as artisans sculpt clay, whittle wood, forge metals, and imbue baskets with the power of speech. Hungry crafters can also sniff out specialty food items to sample or purchase while dancing across the sprawling venue to the tunes of live music.

Committing their enterprise to eco-friendly tourism, the women at SegZone Tours guide visitors through the historic streets of Annapolis, along the city waterways of Dover, and around the track at Dover International Speedway—all aboard segways. For groups or private parties, tour leaders can also focus excursions on local gardens, architecture, and wildlife in areas often unreachable by car or paraglider. They also guide themed seasonal tours, such as rides along haunted-house routes or past holiday-light displays. With an eye toward safety, staff members always provide thorough instruction on riding before tours or rentals, though they often give customers license to race or argue over whose segway would look better with flames painted on the side. When not leading guided excursions for customers or school groups, the team organizes corporate team-building events as well as indoor obstacle courses for recreation.

At Montgomery Royal Theater, six screens beam larger-than-life stars into the eyes of moviegoers during showings of recently released flicks and Hollywood blockbusters. Viewers can sink into the theater's plush, cushioned seats to absorb action-packed reels that showcase the twists of budding romance or the dire consequences of resurrecting an extinct flower’s DNA. The theater’s concession stand outfits viewers with buckets of popcorn and cups brimming with soda, providing the appropriate rations to accompany treks into the fantastical worlds of first-run films.

It’s fitting that Brian Nosler’s hobbies include both golf and fly fishing. Both sports require concentration, appreciation for the outdoors, and a fluid backstroke to hit a specific target. But when he’s not intentionally wading in streams, the 2009 Oregon PGA champion does his best to avoid water at all costs. During professional golf-instruction sessions, Nosler guides students with a simple approach to swing fundamentals, teaching both full-swing mechanics and short-game techniques—his personal specialty. In addition to helping students master the art of reading greens' dense instruction manuals, Nosler provides club-repair services and personal club-fitting sessions.