Building Your Own Ladder Ball Set

Building your own ladder ball set is certainly a real option for most people. One of the beauties about the game is its simplicity in rules and of course equipment. And this last aspect works for us in making a whole set for a small amount or no money at all.

So we have put together a series of instructions below that will step you through how to make a ladder toss game set. With a few basic tools and some bits and pieces from around the yard (or from your local DIY shop), you should be well on your way to a new home made set.

What you need:

• A sharp hack saw that you will need to cut through PVC piping with;
• A sharp knife that will be used for cutting rope;
• One hot glue gun or epoxy resin, which will provide a tighter and stronger fix for the PVC piping;
• 12 golf balls, preferably with 6 of one color and 6 of the other;
• A electric drill and bit that will be used to drill through some golf balls and with a diameter to match the rope that will connect the golf balls together;
• Some rope that you will use to thread through the golf balls (aka bolas). You don’t want to use string as it won’t be strong enough and you don’t want too thick a rope as you need to be able to thread it through the golf balls you are going to drill a hole through)
• A bench vice grip to hold the golf balls still while you drill them;
• 5 x 10′ 1/2″ PVC piping, or 6 if the ends are flared;
• 18 x 24″ 1/2″ PVC piping;
• 12 x 12″ 1/2″ PVC piping;
• 12 x 90° elbows for 1/2″ PVC piping;
• 12 x T fittings for 1/2″ PVC piping;
• 12 golf balls (preferably 6 of 2 different colors);
• Spray paint of your choice; you can pretty much any color scheme for your ladder ball set and so the sky is the limit; and
• Nylon rope (3/16″ – 3/8″).

1. Cut the piping:  12 x 12″ pieces, and 18 x 24″ pieces. If your piping is flared at the end (so that they can piece together without a fitting), you will find you are 3′ short if you only buy 5 x 10′ pipes. However, don’t worry if you aren’t 100% accurate as you will have a little room to play with.

2. Paint the piping: we recommended to do a partial assembly before painting to ensure a proper fit. We assembled the “ladder” section in 3 U shaped pieces and painted them red, blue and green. We then painted the base black.

3. Assemble the bolas: Using the bench vice clamp to hold the golf balls in place, drill a hole through each of the 12 golf balls. Make sure the holes are large enough to accept the rope you had put aside earlier. Cut the 12 x 13″ sections of rope. Put the rope through the golf ball, using the hot glue or epoxy to affix it in place. There are several methods you can use to do this, not all require hot glue. However we do recommend the use of the glue as it provides a safer and more professional look.