Saint Matthews, 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.

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.

At Farnsley Golf Course, you can sharpen your long and short game at a nine-hole, par-3 course or on multiple practice fields. In 2011, five of the course’s greens got a makeover and all caddies were required to dispose of their shoulder pads and acid-wash jeans. Off the course, golfers can perfect their swing at a driving range lined with 300 yards of bermuda grass, or focus on chipping in a short-game practice area. If you’re looking for more in-depth tweaks to your technique, feel free to enlist the help of a teaching professional with personalized lessons.

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.

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.

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.