Group shucks differences, finds common ground with cornhole

Seven years ago, Albert Dukes had never thrown a cornhole bag in his life. 

Now, he is sharing his newfound love of the game with the Horizon West community. 

Dukes started the original Horizon West Cornhole group right before the pandemic began, and now the group is starting to gain more attention. 

CORNHOLE CONCEPTION

As a former Ohio State football player, Dukes was no stranger to the sport and its tailgates. He said he often saw people playing cornhole but never took an interest. 

In 2015, he picked up a bag for fun, and everything changed. 

After investing some time into the sport and getting consistent at it, Dukes began to share his newfound love for cornhole with some of his friends and family members. That’s when his passion bloomed. 

“Me being a competitive person, it was just something I wanted to get good at,” Dukes said. “It’s just one of those things where you can watch people connect and network. With the pandemic and then also the George Floyd and other racial strains going on, I feel like we needed that connection more than ever.” 

Dukes said he has met some great people and made amazing friends through the group.

“It just became a place where there was no politics, no race issues,” he said. “You come out, pick up a bag, introduce yourselves, and we just play.”

With three children and a job in real estate to balance, Dukes’ life can be stressful. But when things get hard, he knows he can turn to cornhole as one of his forms of comfort. 

“It’s a place of peace for me,” he said. “I can just go out there and let things out, and it just brings me back to where I need to be.” 

LET THE BAGS FLY

The group currently has more than 200 members, although Dukes said his goal is to grow it even more. 

Member Christian Dotsey said Dukes does a great job making sure everyone is included and having fun — no matter their skill level. Dotsey’s family moved from Philadelphia and said his friends in Horizon West are from all over the country. 

“The group is great just because of how diverse it is,” Dotsey said. “There are people from all backgrounds and all walks of life that come together for this shared interest. There is definitely competition, but in the end, it’s more about having fun in that competitive environment. It’s really cool to find groups like Horizon West Cornhole that can take people who wouldn’t otherwise know each other and get them to bond together over some drinks, some music and a great game.”

Member Mike Smith said the group is a tremendous amount of fun and the competition, and camaraderie is the biggest reason that he has continued playing.

“Since playing cornhole over the last two years, I’ve made countless new friends, and as you run into them around our community, everybody remembers, and our group grows,” Smith shared. “We also change the theme of our competition every month — from holidays to favorite sports teams — and we wear something corresponding to that theme, which makes it interesting and fun. I would recommend the group to anyone who wants to come out, play and ‘let the bags fly.’”

GETTING IT TOGETHER

The group hosts a monthly blind draw tournament every third Saturday of the month, as well as a group meeting every first and third Wednesday. 

One of the group’s biggest events was at the Central Florida Chili Cookoff in Hamlin. Dukes had about 18 or 19 teams, about 40 people, for the tournament.

Most recently, a few members of the group including Dukes met up at the parking lot behind Ford’s Garage in Hamlin to throw some bags and have some fun. 

Dukes said his current focus is in planning for the group’s May 21 event in honor of Memorial Day. 

The “Give Them Their Flowers Now” Cornhole tournament will support those who are veterans or in the military through a drop-off event where locals put together care packages for people who are deployed in need. 

The format for the tournament is a $10 blind draw with a double elimination bracket. The bracket is mainly for the players who are new to the game or who are still working on their technique. 

Residents are invited to bring care packages, with specified items including chocolate, tea bags, candy, gum, toothbrushes, baby powder and disposable razors, to the tournament and come out and have a good time while also helping support a good cause. 

The items must be singular and travel sized or smaller. 

TOURNAMENT TITALISTS

At first glance, corhole seems to be an easy game, but those who play consistently know better. 

Participants take turns throwing the bags on the board in hopes of getting them into the hole with the goal of reaching 21 points. 

Although the game can be played professionally and recreationally, tournament-style cornhole is different from the traditional tailgate style with which most people are familiar. 

Tournament-style cornhole requires the boards to be made out of wood, typically birch, oak or maple, finished with a smooth texture coat and weigh at least 15 pounds. If a board is too light or flimsy, it will cause the bags to bounce when they hit. 

The typical recreational cornhole bag can vary in size and weight and is composed of only one type of material and is often filled with either corn or rocks. Professional cornhole bags have to meet size and weight requirements and must be filled with plastic resin. 

However, the biggest difference between tournament-style bags and recreational bags is that professional bags are almost always composed of two types of materials, a “sticky” material on one side and a “slick” material on the other. The sticky material helps to catch the board and prevent sliding while the slick material offers speed and control. 

CORNHOLE ORIGINS

While some say cornhole was invented in 14th century Germany, others credit the Blackhawk tribe of Illinois or a Kentucky farmer in the 1800s. The game took off in Cincinnati about 15 years ago and has spread ever since. 

So why is cornhole so popular? The American Cornhole Association credits the popularity to the game’s portability and age-friendliness.

GET INVOLVED

Facebook Group: Click here. 

Email the organizer: [email protected]

Official rules and regulations: Click here. 

Memorial Day event information: Click here.