Cornhole tossing is gaining steam in New Orleans

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

For Peyton Mares, a 16-year-old Archbishop Rummel junior, cornhole toss is a big part of his life right now.

The Kenner resident, who graduated from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Elementary School, said he went from occasionally playing the sport before the pandemic – having been introduced to the bean bag game by his father – to devoting one to two hours a day perfecting his skills in his backyard when few extracurriculars were available at school.

“I played a little before the pandemic, but I got really good during the pandemic,” Mares said. “I don’t play tournaments on Mondays and Tuesdays during school. So I get home, eat, do homework – if I have to – and then go practice. I also watch videos on YouTube to help me learn how to play the better players.”


Mares said his first experience with league play was when his dad needed a partner.

“And, I’ve been playing ever since,” Mares said.

His dedication and proficiency have paid off. This season, Mares earned enough points to be ranked a professional. He is one of only eight “Under 18” players in the nation and among the top 24 overall as a member of the GNO Cornhole n, which is part of the American Cornhole League (ACL) and its more than 100,000 registered players. Since Mares is an ACL member, he is considered a professional and cannot play in high school leagues.

Bags used in competition have to be approved by the ACL, which writes all the rules and regulations. The league has been televised on ESPN and other networks since 2017.

The object of cornhole toss is to get a bean bag in a hole in a wood board set up 27 feet away. The first person or team to score 21 points in a game wins. Mares said an average game could take seven to 10 minutes, although he’s watched a game that took an hour and 16 minutes.

Largely self-taught
Mares said he is mostly self- taught, though he mentioned that Josh Bordelon, owner of GNO Cornhole and a professional player, showed him how to spin the bag.

“You can’t really learn to play from anybody,” Mares said. “You can’t really be consistent if you’re not comfortable. I can’t teach what I do, I just do what I do.”

Mares calls his style of game “high-risk, high-reward.”

“When I just slide the bag in the hole, I’m not having fun,” he said. “It’s all about having fun and trying to make the game as muddy as possible so other players can’t just slide their bags in.”

“I like to put a block bag right in front of the hole so other players can’t just slide their bag in, and they have to airmail it or do something to figure something around it,” Mares said. “It opens up their range to miss the bag. It gives them different looks (to figure out).”

As he’s crisscrossed the country playing in more than 500 open, singles, doubles and blind-draw tournaments, Mares said he’s beaten quite a few top players. Tournaments are not based on age, he said, so he mostly plays professional adults. Because he thinks the game is 75% mental, he psyches himself up to win.

“I don’t get intimidated (by older pros),” he said. “You can’t think like that. If I play a better player, I trust my mechanics and try to tell myself to go back to what I do at practice. … If you don’t have the mentality to win, you’re not going to win.”

Tournaments are expensive, so Mares said he has relied on the help of six sponsors (for bags, his clothing, etc.) to help with the cost of traveling.

“This year, I’ve been to South Dakota, South Carolina, California twice and Vegas twice,” he said. 

At a Mercy Family Center fundraising tournament, “Catfish, Corndogs and Cornhole,” at the Madisonville Maritime Museum on July 23, Mares and Koby Costanza placed first in the bring-your-own-partner (BYOP) tournament, and Mares placed second in the blind competition being paired with Nathan Hebert. The event was so successful that Mercy Family Center plans to host it again next year.

Cornhole toss is not yet an Olympic sport, but those serious about the game are pushing to get 75 countries to enter to make it a medal sport. Top players said they are about halfway there.

“This sport will definitely be way bigger, I know, in two years,” Mares said. “It’s not an Olympic sport yet, but I can definitely see it happening.”

Mares doesn’t know what his future profession will be.

“I just do my best to live in the moment,” he said. “Wherever I end up is what I’ll do.”

Visit GNO Cornhole on the web: https://www.gnocornhole.com.

[email protected]