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How to Get Better at Cornhole

Practice with a plan. Give each session one goal, repeat the same pre-throw routine on every bag, miss short of the hole, not past it, and finish with rounds that have a target. The 20-minute routine below builds this in, and your points per round (PPR) show whether it works.

By Marin Barisic, a cornhole player and event organizer in Europe who builds BAGGERS, a cornhole training app. Updated

What does club-level practice look like?

It comes down to five habits: one goal per session with a count at the end, the same release every time, misses that stay short of the hole, the same pre-throw routine on every bag, and closing rounds with a target. None of them needs a strong arm or new bags.

  1. 1. Practice one thing at a time, and count it

    Casual practice:
    throw until it feels good, then stop. Nothing tells you whether today's bags landed better than last week's.
    Club practice:
    one goal per session, such as a flat bag or one landing spot, and a count at the end that you can try to beat next time.
    Why it works:
    research on goal setting in sport finds a modest gain, and goals about how you throw help more than goals about the score.
    Try it:
    write your one goal on your phone before the first bag, and the count after the last.

  2. 2. Chase the same throw, not the best throw

    Casual practice:
    after a miss, throw harder or change the grip. Coaching guides list too much force among the most common mistakes.
    Club practice:
    the same release, bag after bag, until it is boring. When the throw repeats, you can see what a change does.
    Marin's cue:
    film your throw from the side. You see straight away where your hand let go of the bag and the arc it flew.
    Try it:
    film 8 bags and check that your hand lets go at the same height every time.

  3. 3. Miss short of the hole, not past it

    Casual practice:
    aim at the hole itself, and count every bag that is not in it as a miss. Coaching guides flag this as a beginner habit, because a bag on the board still scores or blocks.
    Club practice:
    aim at the middle or lower part of the board, in line with the hole. A bag that stops short of the hole can still slide in, or be pushed in by your next bag.
    Marin's cue:
    an active bag in front of the hole is always better than one above it or off to the side.
    Try it:
    block 4 of the routine below, with your target zone on the lower part of the board, in line with the hole.

  4. 4. Use the same pre-throw routine on every bag

    Casual practice:
    the first bag of a game gets a long look, and the last bag at 20 to 19, one point from winning, gets rushed.
    Club practice:
    the same two or three steps before every bag, in practice too: feet on the same mark, eyes on one spot, one breath out, throw.
    Why it works:
    studies of routines before a throw or a shot find a modest benefit that grows under pressure. Doing the same steps matters more than how long they take.
    Try it:
    pick your steps and use them on every bag of your next session, the warm-up included.

  5. 5. Practice bags that count

    Casual practice:
    every practice bag is relaxed, so the first bag that really matters is the one in a game.
    Club practice:
    the last rounds of every session have a target, and missing it costs something.
    Why it works:
    a 2021 review of 14 studies, ten of them in sport, found that training under pressure improved performance under pressure. Its authors suggest building pressure into practice rather than only adding more practice.
    Try it:
    end every session with block 6 of the routine below: the Pressure Round, with a target.

How do you practice cornhole alone? A 20-minute routine

Alone, you need one board, 4 bags, a tape measure and your phone: run the six drills below in this order, from a release warm-up to pressure rounds, in about 20 minutes. Each block has one goal and tells you what to log, so you finish with numbers instead of a feeling. Use your pre-throw routine on every bag, and unless a block says otherwise, throw rounds of 4 bags from full distance.

What you need

  • One board and 4 bags. A second board saves walking, but you do not need one.
  • A tape measure, to mark your throwing spot 27 ft (8.23 m) from the front edge of the board, and spots at about 15, 20 and 25 ft (4.5, 6 and 7.6 m) for block 2.
  • Tape or a cloth to mark a target zone on the board for block 4.
  • Your phone, to log each bag and to film a few throws from the side.

  1. 1. Grip & Release Calibration

    4 rounds · about 3 min

    Wake up the release.

    Two rounds of dry swings without letting go, then two rounds of real throws. Rate every one, swings included: felt right, slightly off, or a grip issue.

  2. 2. Distance Ramp

    4 rounds · about 3 min

    Find full distance.

    One round each from about 15 ft, 20 ft and 25 ft, then one from the full 27 ft. Log whether each bag landed on target (the spot you aimed for), on the board or off.

  3. 3. Flat Throw Drill

    3 rounds · about 2 min

    Check that the bag flies flat.

    Ignore where the bags land and log only how each one flew: flat and stable, a wobble, or a tumble.

  4. 4. Target Zone Repeatability

    5 rounds · about 4 min

    Land in the same spot.

    Mark a zone about the size of a bag on the middle or lower part of the board, in line with the hole, and keep it for the whole block. Log each bag as in the zone, a near miss (you would not change your aim) or way off (you would).

  5. 5. Straight Slide Control

    4 rounds · about 3 min

    Slide it on line.

    Ignore the hole and watch only how each bag moves after it lands. Log a straight slide, a curved or drifted slide, or off the board. If your boards are too slow for bags to slide, add these rounds to block 4 instead.

  6. 6. Pressure Round

    6 rounds · about 5 min

    Make the bags count.

    Play every round as if you must score to win, then reset and play the next one the same way. Log each bag as in the hole, on the board or off. This block gives you your PPR for the day. To give it a real stake, set a target per round before you start, such as your PPR from this block last time or your 8-bag check further down, and add one extra round at the end for every round under it.

The whole routine: 26 rounds in about 20 minutes.

The minutes use the app's own estimate: about 7 seconds a bag, 15 seconds between rounds and 30 seconds to set up each block. Each extra round from block 6 adds under a minute.

Run the same routine in the same order each time you practice, so this week's numbers can be compared with last week's, and change one block at a time, so you can tell which change moved your number. Short on time before a game night: blocks 1 and 6 take about 8 minutes.

All six drills are in BAGGERS, and every drill in the app is free: pick one, tap one result per bag, and end the session when the block is done. The app does the counting. For a full game on your own, Ghost Mode plays you to 21 against a simulated opponent that scores its own rounds. Finish Line, one of its three free variants, turns up the pressure as you get close to 21.

What score should you aim for in practice?

Your own score from last time, block by block. Write one number per block on the card below, and next session each number is the one to beat. Match it or beat it, and the block passes.

The 20-minute card
1. Grip & Release Calibration“Release felt right”, of 16Last timeToday
2. Distance Ramp“On target”, of 16Last timeToday
3. Flat Throw Drill“Flat and stable”, of 12Last timeToday
4. Target Zone Repeatability“In the zone”, of 20Last timeToday
5. Straight Slide Control“Straight slide”, of 16Last timeToday
6. Pressure RoundPPR: points divided by 6 roundsLast timeToday

Screenshot the card and fill it in between blocks. A number lower than last time tells you which block to watch next session.

With a club mate on one board, take turns by round: one throws while the other logs each bag and watches the release from the side, then you swap. Each of you keeps your own card.

How do you know it is working? Track your PPR

Your practice is working when your PPR from the same drill rises over a month of the same routine. PPR means points per round: what your own 4 bags score in a round, averaged over every round you threw, before any cancellation (the game rule where only the difference between both players' round scores counts).

Points for each bag
Where the bag ends upPoints
In the hole3
On the board1
Off the board0

Four bags in the hole, a four-bagger, is 12 points, the most one round can score, so 12 is the highest PPR there is. For a feel of the scale, a PPR of 8 is two bags in and two on, every round, and a PPR of 6 is one in and three on.

Example: over two rounds you throw in, on, on, off, then in, in, on, on. That is 5 points and 8 points, 13 in total. 13 divided by 2 rounds is a PPR of 6.5.

How to read your number

  1. Take it from the same drill every time. Use the PPR from the Pressure Round, block 6 of the routine. The other five numbers on your card can point to why it moved.
  2. Write it down weekly, judge it monthly. One session can swing with wind, cold hands or tired legs. Note your number every week and look at the trend over a month.
  3. Compare with yourself. As a rough guide from rated play, divisions usually start around 6, 7 and 8 PPR, pro divisions sit above 9, and the best players average 10 or more. The exact lines move between organizers and seasons, and these are game numbers, with an opponent's bags in the way, so they are not the same as your practice PPR. Your own number from last month, in the same drill, is the better yardstick.

Check your PPR now: 8 bags

Throw 2 rounds of 4 bags as if you must score to win. Tap where each bag ended up.

0 of 8

Nothing you tap here is stored unless you keep your result. It then waits on this device until you sign up.

This is the Pressure Round from BAGGERS, cut down to 8 bags. In the app, your 30-day PPR is part of the free stats.

What do you practice when the routine gets easy?

When a block keeps passing session after session, keep blocks 1 and 2 as your warm-up and swap that block for a shot drill. Block & Replace: land a blocker in front of the hole, then push it in for 3 and take its place. Airmail Training: clear a bag placed 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) in front of the hole and drop into the hole without touching the board, with a fifth bag as the blocker. Opening Line: only the first bag of each round is scored, thrown at the hole. If your bags still wobble or dive, go back to the throw first.

How to throw a cornhole bag: the five most common misses and their fixes

BAGGERS is a cornhole training app that runs in any browser. Log the routine there, from Grip & Release Calibration to the Pressure Round, and the app keeps the count.

Start a drill in BAGGERS

FAQ

How do you calculate PPR in cornhole?

Count 3 points for every bag of yours in the hole and 1 for every bag on the board, before any cancellation against an opponent, then divide by the number of rounds. Two rounds worth 5 and 8 points give a PPR of 6.5. The highest possible is 12.

What is a good PPR in cornhole?

There is no single good PPR, but rated play gives a rough guide: divisions usually start around 6, 7 and 8 points per round, pro divisions sit above 9, and the best players average 10 or more. Those are game numbers. For practice, compare with your own PPR from last month in the same drill.

Do you need a strong arm to get better at cornhole?

No. Coaching guides list too much force among the most common mistakes. In Marin's experience, a simple grip, firm but not too hard, gives you control, and with control you can throw the bag where you want it.

How long does it take to get good at cornhole?

There is no honest number of weeks. What you can see is whether your Pressure Round PPR rises from one month to the next. If it does not, change one block of your routine.