How to win at the Labor Day picnic: when cousin Biff at the family barbecue challenges you to horseshoes, treat him like a wussy little shuttlecock

Men's Fitness, Sept, 2005 by Brian Libby

YOU'RE STUFFED ON CHARCOAL-kissed burgers and potato salad. Now your summer 'cue calls for some friendly competition--throwing horseshoes, perhaps some badminton, even a crazy game of croquet. But here's what your friends and family don't know: You're not just playing for fun. You're there to win.

At the Badminton Net

Bust out your own birdie--or as it's officially known, a shuttlecock. Forget the plastic kiddie version and hit the sporting-goods store a few clays in advance for the feather birdie and metal racquets the pros use. "Using a professional set makes the game much faster and your aim a lot more accurate," says Dan Cloppas, who heads USA Badminton, the training organization for Olympic badminton competitors.

On the Croquet Lawn

Master your grip. With traditional mallets, it's the grip--not the swing--that determines how far your ball, or your opponent's, goes flying. And let's face it. Sending somebody else's ball to Timbuktu is the best part of croquet. To do this, keep your hands high on the mallet, says Bob Kroeger, a columnist for USCA Croquet News. By lowering your grip, you significantly reduce the distance your opponent's ball travels.

In the Horseshoe Pit

Pitch like a pro. "The forward momentum of your body is most important," says Casey Sluys of the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association. His advice: Bend your knees, swing your arm back as far as possible, and then bring your whole body--arm, shoulder, and waist--forward on the pitch. "Rather than aiming for a lot of rotations of the horseshoe, focus on getting a good amount of height plus a nice, flat landing," Sluys says. That should help you at least get the shoe in the sand. Hitting the stake, however, depends on the quality of your aim--and the number of beers you downed prior to the start of the match.