Seven columns, every card face up. Move cards one higher or lower onto the waste pile and clear the table before the stock runs out.
How to Play Golf Solitaire
Golf Solitaire is a quick game with nothing hidden: every card in the layout is dealt face up, so you can see the whole puzzle from the first move.
The Objective
Clear all 35 cards from the seven columns. You do not have to use up the stock: once the columns are empty you have won, however many stock cards are left.
The Setup
Golf uses one 52-card deck. Thirty-five cards are dealt face up into seven columns of five. The other 17 cards form the stock, and one is turned over at the start to begin the waste pile, leaving 16 in the stock.
Playing Cards to the Waste
You can move the top card of any column onto the waste if it is exactly one rank higher or lower than the top card of the waste, whatever its suit or color. With a 7 on the waste, you can play any 6 or 8. The card you play becomes the new top card, so after an 8 you can play a 7 or a 9, and the chain goes on as long as a card fits.
Two rules limit chains:
- Aces and Kings do not connect. There is no wrap-around, so an Ace cannot go on a King, or a King on an Ace.
- Nothing can be played on a King. You can play a King onto a Queen, but once a King is on the waste, the chain is over.
When you have no card to play, turn the next stock card onto the waste and start a new chain. You get one pass through the stock, with no redeal.
Golf Solitaire Strategy Tips
- Plan the whole chain before you start. Because every card is face up, you can see what each play will uncover. Trace the possible chains and pick the longest. A chain can also change direction: on a 5, the run 6, 7, 6, 5, 4 is legal and clears five cards.
- Budget your stock. You get 17 waste cards in all, the starting card plus the 16 in the stock, to clear 35 column cards. That is a little over two column cards per waste card, so a short chain has to be made up later.
- Know what is left in the stock. Every card that is not in the columns or on the waste is in the stock. If all four 8s are in the columns, no 8 will come from the stock to rescue a stranded 7 or 9.
- Watch your Kings and Queens. A King can only leave a column by going onto a Queen, and that ends the chain. Each King in the columns needs its own Queen on the waste, so if a Queen is on the waste and a King is free, think twice before covering the Queen with a Jack.
- Use Aces as turning points. Only a 2 can follow an Ace, so an Ace usually ends a chain. With two 2s available, though, you can go down and back up: 2, Ace, 2, 3.
- Dig into the fullest columns. The deepest card in each column sits under four others. When two plays look equally good, take the card from the column with more cards left.
- Keep a mix of ranks showing. The more different ranks you have on top of the columns, the better the chance that the next stock card fits one of them.
Playing on Solitaire Parlor
Tap or click the top card of a column to play it onto the waste, or drag and drop it there, and click the stock to turn the next card. Undo has no limit, so you can try one chain, take it back, and try another. Hint highlights a useful move, Restart replays the same deal, and New Game deals a new numbered deal; add ?deal= and the number to the page link to replay or share it. Daily Deal gives everyone the same deal each day.
Your game saves in your browser automatically, and Stats are kept in your own browser, not on a server. There is no sign-up and no points; each game tracks your time and moves.
Where Golf Solitaire Gets Its Name
Golf is a traditional patience game, and its name is usually explained by the way it has been scored. Each deal counts as a hole, and you score a point for every card left in the columns, so lower is better, as in golf. Players sometimes total a round of nine deals.
If you enjoy Golf, TriPeaks Solitaire uses the same one-up, one-down idea with the cards laid out in three peaks, and Pyramid Solitaire is another quick single-deck game.
Golf Solitaire FAQ
Can you play a Queen on a King in Golf Solitaire?
No. Under the classic rule, nothing can be played on a King. Once a King reaches the waste, turn the next stock card.
Can an Ace go on a King?
No. The ranks do not wrap around, so an Ace can only go on a 2, and only a 2 can go on an Ace.
Do I have to use all the stock cards?
No. You win as soon as all 35 column cards are cleared, even with cards left in the stock.
Can every game of Golf be won?
No. Some deals cannot be cleared however you play them, because the stock does not bring the ranks you need at the right time.