CORNHOLE
There’s something particularly special about cornhole.
STORY: Amy Meadows
PHOTOS: Stephen Payne
“It’s the only game that lets you hold a drink in one hand while you throw a bag with the other. You can’t play baseball with a beer in your left hand,” muses Jeff Brawand, founder of Cornhole ATL, Atlanta’s largest cornhole league. “And you don’t necessarily have to be athletic to play. If you can throw a one-pound bag 30 feet, then you can play.”
The combination of social camaraderie and lighthearted competition makes cornhole the perfect sport for ATL residents seeking an activity that’s equal parts exercise and entertainment. And through Cornhole ATL, you can participate in a league close to work or home, with several intown options, from Atkins Park in Virginia-Highland to The Midway Pub in East Atlanta. Each sevenweek season ends with a tournament, and the league is divided into three divisions—beginner, intermediate and advanced—to ensure fair and fun play.
Of course, a tad bit of skill is required to get four bags to land perfectly in the hole of a board 30 feet away. Brawand offers these pointers (below) to help you get points on the board.
TIPS FROM THE EXPERT
The bags should be filled with plastic resin beads. While cornhole bags originally were filled with corn (hence, the name), when the corn gets wet or is played with often, it turns to flour. Plastic resin lasts.
Keep an eye on your feet. The front of the two opposing boards are 27 feet apart. Your foot cannot go past the tip of the cornhole board at which you are stationed during play.
Throw the bag nice and high. You want to get a good arc on the bag so it doesn’t hit the board and slide off the back.
Don’t aim for the hole. Again, you don’t want the bag to slide off the back of the board. Aim for the front of the board, and you have a better shot of getting the bag in the hole.
Get some spin on the bag. Throwing the bag like a Frisbee will actually cause it to land flat on the board.
