T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Brian Ash, a former professional cornhole player who lives in Melbourne, led a demonstration on the game at the Le Grand Pioneer Heritage Library on Tuesday night.

LE GRAND — Cornhole, as it turns out, isn’t just a drinking game.

The popular bean bag based competition often seen at tailgates and backyard barbecues has led Brian Ash, who grew up south of Le Grand and now makes his home in Melbourne, around the country competing professionally, and he’s also become something of an unofficial ambassador for the sport in Iowa.

“The one thing about this sport is anybody can play it. Anybody can win, and everybody shows up and has a good time,” Ash said.

Ash and three professional players from the American Cornhole League (ACL) led a demonstration at the Pioneer Heritage Library in Le Grand on Tuesday night, and although the turnout was lower than what they would have liked to see, it was still a great opportunity to get some throws in, explain the rules — three points in the hole, one on the board, first to 21 wins, no bust rule, 27 feet between boards — and share advice with players both young and old.

After growing up in Marshall County, Ash, who’s now an electrician with a company based in Marshalltown, lived in Seattle for a time but eventually made his way back home about 15 years ago. Fast forward nine years, and Ash and his cornhole partner decided to enter a tournament in Illinois. They did well enough to, in his words, “make a move” and start taking it more seriously.

From there, Ash signed up for amateur tournaments and kept making the cuts, finishing in the top 100 in points overall and qualifying for professional status. Even then, however, he kept a full-time job, working Monday through Thursday, playing Friday and Saturday (destinations stretched as far as places like Florida, Philadelphia, Seattle, California and Texas) and flying back home on Sunday just to do it all over again the next day.

“There’s plenty of players in the state that could qualify, but it’s the desire of ‘Do I want to travel, and do I want that hectic schedule?’ Because it’s not your full-time job,” Ash said. “Unless you’re going to go win and win and win and be out on the circuit and win all the time, it’s tough.”

When asked how he’s improved his own technique over the years and how it compares to, say, pitching a baseball or shooting a basketball, Ash stressed the importance of focusing on the basics.

“It’s the same motion. It’s muscle memory (and) fundamentals. The biggest thing, and I’ll tell all these guys when they’ve started thinking about pursuing the pros, focus, focus, focus,” Ash said. “It’s being able to maintain focus and psychologically being stable enough and strong enough. Don’t let that bad bag you just let go ruin your game.”

For the last two years, Ash was the only ACL professional in Iowa, but he’s since let his playing membership lapse to become Midwest director of the league. Nonetheless, there are now at least five other professionals from the state, including Lowen Reams, who was part of the demonstration in Le Grand.

Reams, who hails from Charles City and now calls Pella home, said he started about a year and a half ago while he was playing a lot of slow pitch softball. He hurt his shoulder but wanted to keep competing, so he started tossing bags with a few of his friends from back home. At a regional tournament, he met Ash, who was impressed with his skill set.

“That just gave me the motivation to take it to the next level,” Reams said. “This just gave me something to compete in… You just meet all these good people.”

In addition to the occasional demonstration and tournaments he still gets to like a recent one in Cedar Falls, Ash is involved in a weekly open cornhole game at the Marshall County Fairgrounds on Wednesday nights.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.