Nicholasville, KY Outdoor Activities

Designed by renowned architect David Pfaff, the 27-hole championship golf course at Quail Chase Golf Club splits into three par-36 courses that wind through the area's lush scotch pine, maple, oak, and dogwood trees. Limber up stiff clubs at the course’s practice facilities, which prep ungainly irons for an 18-hole run with bermuda-grass tees, a USGA practice putting green, and a reserved area for rehearsing pre-shot ritual baths. Golfers can strike through two of the club's three 9-hole courses, manipulating orbs past the angular detours of dogleg holes and around four water hazards during approximately 4.5 hours of play. Concealed cart paths obscure scenery-marring vehicles and help to keep play flowing by restricting fairway victory laps to every other shot.

Designed by famed Australian golfer Graham Marsh, Old Silo Golf Course engulfs 209 acres of hilly terrain with a challenging 7,011-yard layout. Bent-grass tees, fairways, and greens form manicured chutes through bluegrass rough, a difficult outlier that lures errant shots with its long blades and hypnotic plucking of ancient fiddles.

Somerset Creek comes into play on five holes, looming on the edges of 7 and 17 and presenting a forced carry on holes 6, 15, and 16. The par 72 course concludes with a 574-yard par 5 in which players must navigate a three-sectioned fairway and 8 of the course's 84 white-sand bunkers.

Rather than rummaging in their golf bag for forgotten candy bars or stowaway potatoes, players can quell appetites at Old Silo's restaurant, which serves a menu of pulled-pork sandwiches, cheeseburgers, and other casual grill fare. On weekends, grillmasters barbecue steaks, beef brisket, and ribs on the outdoor balcony that overlooks the golf course.

Course at a Glance:

• Designed by Graham Marsh
• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 7,011 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 74.6 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 139 from the farthest tees
• Four tee options
• Scorecard

Baseball in Louisville dates back to 1876 when the Louisville Grays began playing as part of the National League. Soon after the turn of the 20th century, minor league baseball arrived in Derby City and for 70 years, the Louisville Colonels commanded it. Their departure in 1972, however, led to a period of inactivity, as well as a period of unemployed umpires roaming the city shouting "SAFE!" at landing birds. Ten years later, baseball returned with the arrival of the Louisville Redbirds, who eventually became the RiverBats in 1998, and simply the Bats in 2002. Over the years this franchise has spent time as the affiliate of three big league teams: the St. Louis Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and its current affiliate, the Cincinnati Reds.

Along 1,000 feet of an indoor raceway, up to eight Sodi competition karts snake around bends and blaze through straightaways at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. Instead of creating a typical tiny, circular path, the designers of Bluegrass Indoor Karting are proud to present a track that celebrates speed and skill. Their karts protect drivers from bumps and rolls with a three-point safety harness, bumper system, and no diving policy. They also design karts specifically for kids, which share the same specs as the adult karts but only max out at a speed of 25 miles per hour. From the 2,000-square-foot viewing area, guests can watch their friends chase down checkered flags, and the facility's 5,000 square feet of conference rooms accommodate youth birthdays and corporate events.

The Tennis Club at Springhurst places USPTA- and PTR-certified instructors at the helm of both of its professional-level facilities, where programs, camps, and classes help players of all ages develop their skills. Opened in 1998, the multifaceted Springhurst location combines 10 indoor tennis courts with areas for golf, field hockey, volleyball, and basketball to form a one-stop training haven. The club’s other location, Top Gun Tennis Academy, has sprawled its 16-court campus before competitors since 2010, and includes smaller-scale QuickStart courts for pint-size players and baby ball machines not yet strong enough to rifle shots across full courts. Dually dedicated to tennis's future, both facilities offer programs that have helped produce college-level players and championship teams.

A solitary moan drifts across a 15,000-square-foot warehouse. Lights flicker, and performers with horns, tattered clothes, and fake wounds surge through The Devil’s Attic. Guests scatter in terror across cinema-quality sets populated by professional actors in makeup that lends to an environment reminiscent of a childhood nightmare or the time you got lost in the clown-art section of a museum. The scarred, bloody ghouls and sinister monsters offer scares suitable for humans aged 12 and older.