Cornhole is a game of inches. It tests your accuracy, touch, and precision. One fraction of an inch can decide between the taste of sweet victory and the bitter taste of defeat. Every inch counts in a game of inches — that’s why it’s essential to get the game setup right, use regulation boards and bags, and practice all the time.
This guide will answer all your questions about getting your cornhole game set up correctly, regulation standards in cornhole, and official cornhole.
How Do You Measure the Distance Between Cornhole Boards?
To set up your cornhole boards for regulation play, you must set them up at a correct distance. But the way you measure that distance makes all the difference. Measure from the wrong point, your setup could be off, and your dialed-in bag toss will be compromised.
There are three main measurements to be aware of:
- The distance between holes
- The distance between foul lines
- The junior foul line
Know these measurements, place your regulation cornhole boards accordingly, and you’ve got a professional cornhole setup to practice your stroke and host some friendly competition.
What Is the Distance Between Holes in Cornhole?
The distance between the center of each hole is 33 feet. It’s easy to remember — just think of how you sink cornhole shots like you’re Larry Bird. Larry wore the iconic Boston Celtics jersey number 33, so if you’re a fan of the Larry Legend, it will help you remember the distance.
What Is the Distance Between Foul Lines in Cornhole?
The distance between foul lines is 27 feet. The offensive line is even with the front edge of each board. Align the front edge of each target to the foul lines 27’ apart, crack open a drink, and you’re ready to toss some bags.
How Far Is the Junior Foul Line in Cornhole?
The junior foul line is 9’ closer to the target than the standard foul line. That means the distance between the junior foul line and the hole is 21’. A little closer is a little easier for little people. It makes sense, right? Like T-Ball, tiny tennis, or lowered basketball hoops, junior cornhole is where prodigies become prodigies. It’s where legends begin.
ESPN 2 even covered the latest cornhole junior national event.
How Far Is a Cornhole Bag Toss?
The toss itself is 30 feet, assuming you release the bag from the foul line and land it directly into the hole. That sounds like you, right?
The board's surface area gives us a bigger target for those who aren’t entirely automatic from 30 feet. For a toss to score a point, the bag will cover between 27-31 feet before landing on the four-foot by two-foot board.
What Is Regulation in Cornhole?
Regulation cornhole refers to standard rules for setup and gameplay used in official cornhole competitions and tournaments. It makes sure that whatever setup you play on is consistent.
This is important to know if you’re getting into cornhole because you want to ensure the board you get meets the standard regulations, and as you fine-tune your cornhole technique, it will be game on for any board, anywhere, any time.
How Official Is Cornhole?
With all we’ve covered about regulation, you may wonder just how official does cornhole get?
It gets pretty official when you consider the scale of the leading organizations and the prize money involved in some of these tournaments. The American Cornhole League is the leading organization that organizes events and pushes the game's growth. They started the World Cornhole Organization, which is growing cornhole globally.
Tournaments can host hundreds of players over several divisions, including singles and doubles. The most significant prize money awarded by a tournament has a payout of $250,000, with players winning up to $20K for a single event.
Cornhole was first broadcasted on national television in 2017. It’s only gotten more popular since.
Play Cornhole Your Way
Just because there are rules, regulations, and a standard way of playing cornhole doesn’t mean you have to follow them to the T. When it’s your board, you can play by your own rules if you want. Push the panels together and see how many you can make consecutively, or try a long-distance game.
Play a game where you can choose your shot location, like H-O-R-S-E. Try trick shots like tossing behind the back, between the legs, or from the deck. That’s another fun thing about having your own set to play with. You can try out playing all sorts of ways and make up your own signature cornhole game.
Cornhole is all about enjoying fun competition with friends and family. You can be as competitive or relaxed as you want about how closely you follow the official rules. As long as you’re out there with a good attitude and sharing the fun with everyone, you’re doing it right.
Conclusion
When setting up your cornhole boards to regulation, it’s easy to get mixed up about how far apart the targets should be. The distance between the front of the boards, the holes’ centers, and the distance between the hold and foul line have different measurements. However, the good thing is that as long as you’re playing with a regulation set, you only have to remember one of the numbers, and then it’ll all be okay.
- The distance between the front edge of each board is 27 feet.
- The distance between each hole is 33 feet.
- The distance between the hole and the foul line you must throw behind is 30 feet.
Most of the time, people won’t care when you’re playing casually if the targets aren’t placed at the exact distance they’re supposed to be. Most people won’t even notice. However, regulation distance is how you want to set it up if you’re planning on training for a tournament and to snatch up some of that prize money.
To get your own regulation-sized Cornhole set, check out the Caliber Games Cornhole Bundle.
Sources:
USA Cornhole National Junior Championships | Watch ESPN
The American Cornhole League continues to grow in talent | WBGO
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