Ladder Toss: A Cowboy's Yard Game

Not unlike cornhole, ladder toss has about a hundred different names it’s known by. You might know it by ladder golf, ladder ball, lasso golf, ball rope, bolo ball, or some other fun take on balls and ladders. It’s a great backyard option that looks just deceptively easy enough to keep people entertained. If you’re new to the game or just looking for some new trivia to bring to your next ladder golf match, keep reading.

Color coded bolos help tell teams apart.

History of Ladder Toss

This modern lawn game has several different origin stories. Several different men, including the current patent-holder of the game, Matt Peterson, believe the game sprang up across different campgrounds and gained popularity through word of mouth in the 90s. Others believe the game originated in Mexico and western parts of the US when cowboys used to throw live snakes at fence posts and branches. Points would be given out if the reptile curled itself around the different holds.

Whether you want to pretend you’re throwing snakes at woody branches or metal fences, we’ve got several colors to suit your needs.

Official Ladder Toss Rules

Whether or not snakes were part of the original game, today players use something called a bolo, which consists of two balls held together with a cord. The objective of today’s ladder golf rules is to score the highest points by getting the bolo to land on one of three horizontal bars. Traditionally, the top one is worth one point, the middle is worth two points, and the bottom bar is worth three points. Points are tallied at the end of each round, with a round generally consisting of three bolas from each side. If a bola lands on the bars but falls off before the end of the round, it doesn’t count for any points. The first to get 21 points wins.

Some people adapt the rules to include additional ways to earn or lose points, and you can always create your own. If you have any great variations or other lawn games we should know about, let us know. We create these custom ladder toss game sets. Made of sturdy metal they’ll last years longer than most ladder toss games. Contact us for more information if you are interested in purchasing a set!

For other yard game ideas, check out How to Play Kubb.