Learn How to Throw a Cornhole Bag the Right Way

The perfect cornhole toss is within your reach

There is a lot that goes into making the perfect cornhole. The prep, aim, toss, and victory dance are all key components. It may appear simple but the art of cornhole has many strategic nuances. So whether you’re considering going pro or simply wanting to show up your in-laws at the next family reunion, you can master your cornhole technique!

The Best Way to Throw Cornhole Bags

Learn how to perfect your cornhole technique with these four simple steps.

#1. The Prep

One of the most important aspects of your cornhole technique is the prep. The way you hold your cornhole bag affects the trajectory of the toss.  You want to make sure that your bag is evenly placed in your hand with the weight equally distributed. If the bag is off-balanced, it will conflict with your aim. Many pros suggest holding the bag between your thumb and forefinger.

Your footing can also affect your standing in the game. Your foot placement depends on what you feel most comfortable with. To have a more controlled toss, place your feet equal distance apart so your arms are the only driving force. Some of the cornhole pros opt for a bowling stance, where one leg is behind the other in a bent position.

#2. The Aim

It’s best to aim for the exact center of the board. Most people go wrong by aiming straight for the hole. They forget that the bags slide and end up missing. If you aim for the middle you are more likely to land on the board and slide into the hole. Even if you don’t make a cornhole, you are still racking up points on the board rather than having your bags in the grass.

#3. The Toss & Release

While the aim is all about the planning, the toss is where the prep and aim come together for the action. The key to a perfect toss is the arc. Achieving the ideal arc is all about the underhand toss! Any other throw won’t achieve this. You want the bag to drop on the board with a small amount of slide. If there is too much slide or arc the bag won’t land on the board at all or it will slide off.

Do your best not to knock your bag on anything when you toss it. Don’t release too soon. Don’t release too late. Lastly, remember to follow through. The follow-through paired with the perfect aim helps the bag to be tossed straight.

#4. The Victory Dance

By far, the most important aspect of your cornhole technique is the… victory dance. This is THE MOST CRITICAL PIECE. When everything comes together in one beautiful fluid motion to get a cornhole, you must celebrate with the perfect victory dance. Top it all off with a shimmy, a cartwheel, a robot dance, or various flailing limbs. This is also a great excuse to break out some dad dance moves.

There you have it, the perfect cornhole technique! However, the real secret to the perfect cornhole technique is practice, practice, and practice. Getting on the board is important, but sinking a shot into the hole gets you more points.

A good toss can be the difference between winning and losing. If you want to perfect that technique and prepare for your end of summer tournaments here are some tips for the perfect toss.

Pro Tips for Your Cornhole Throwing Technique

Here are some quick tips to help you perfect your toss:

Add Some Arc to Your Toss

The game is Cornhole, not baseball. While the fastball-style of throwing can help you in baseball, it makes your throw less accurate when playing Cornhole. Instead of throwing a line drive at the board, throw the bag up in the air a little bit and give it an arc. This improves your aim and gives you a better chance of landing on the board or even sinking a shot into the hole!

Go for a Flat Landing

One mistake rookies tend to make is giving the bag a lot of spin. When the bag goes end over end at a fast speed, it’s only likely to result in an inaccurate shot or bounce right off the board. Professionals do it in a way so that the bag moves flat through the air, like a Frisbee. The bag then lands flat on the board. Aiming for a flat landing is a great way to improve your Cornhole technique.

Add a Little Spin and Let it Slide

This contradicts what we said earlier, but with a little bit of practice, your toss could benefit from a little bit of spin-the keyword here is a little bit. The bag should have a flat rotation as it shoots through the air. Adding some spin to your throw decreases the chance of the bag kicking out of the hole unpredictably, as you know exactly where it’s going once it lands on the board. This is how you get it to slide right into the hole, and having it slide in is a whole lot easier than trying to make a direct shot into the hole.

Keep a Good Form

Keeping a good form is key to a straight toss and a good arc. Practice and experiment with different stances to figure out which helps you cultivate the most effective toss. We suggest planting your feet firmly on the ground and either evenly distributing your weight or take a small step forward to leverage your throw.

Understand How Alcohol Affects Your Game

Having a few drinks while playing Cornhole is tradition. Having too many drinks could cause you to lose concentration and potentially lose the game.

Sink that Cornhole

Cornhole’s apparent simplicity betrays the commitment, level of skill, and practice it takes to fully master the game.

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