About Golf Card Game Rules: How to Play 6-Card Golf, Scoring and Score Sheet
No. Golf Solitaire is a one-player game. This Golf is a multi-player card game where each player tries to finish holes with the lowest score.
By the ToolFluency team · Updated October 2026
Want to play instead? Play Golf online, free in your browser. Golf is a card game for 2 to 4 players (up to 8 with two decks) where the lowest score wins. Each player lays out six cards face down in two rows of three, turns two up, and on each turn swaps a card from the stock or the discard pile into the layout, keeping low cards and making column pairs that cancel to zero. A hole ends when one player has all six cards face up; nine holes make a game. This page has the full rules with diagrams, the 4-card and 9-card versions, and a printable 9-hole score sheet.
How to play Golf
- Use one 52-card deck for 2 to 4 players (two decks for 5 to 8). Deal each player six cards face down in two rows of three.
- Each player turns two of their cards face up. Put the rest of the deck face down as the stock and turn its top card up to start the discard pile.
- On your turn, take the top card of the discard pile or draw the top card of the stock.
- Swap that card with any one of your six cards, face up or face down. The replaced card goes face up on the discard pile.
- If you drew from the stock and do not want the card, discard it; you may then turn one of your face-down cards up.
- When a player has all six cards face up, every other player gets one final turn. Then turn up all cards and score the hole.
- Card values: Ace 1, Two minus 2, Three to Ten face value, Jack and Queen 10, King 0. Two cards of the same rank in one column score 0.
- Play nine holes, passing the deal to the left each hole. The lowest total wins.
Golf scoring
| Card or combination | Points |
|---|
| Ace | 1 |
|---|
| Two | -2 |
|---|
| Three to Ten | Face value |
|---|
| Jack | 10 |
|---|
| Queen | 10 |
|---|
| King | 0 |
|---|
| Pair of the same rank in one column | 0 |
|---|
| Joker (if used) | -2 or -5, agree before dealing |
|---|
Examples
Strategy tips
- Kings (0) and Twos (minus 2) are the best cards: keep them.
- Two high cards of the same rank in one column cancel to 0, so a pair of Jacks beats a Jack and a Three.
- When deciding whether to swap into a face-down spot, treat the unknown card as worth about 6.
- Notice what other players take from the discard pile and avoid feeding them the rank they are pairing.
- Only turn up your last card when your total is low enough to beat what the others can reach in one more turn.
Example: scoring a hole
Top row: King, 7, Queen. Bottom row: 2, 7, 4. The middle column is a pair of 7s and scores 0. The rest: King 0 + Queen 10 + Two -2 + Four 4 = 12. The hole scores 12.
Frequently asked questions
Is Golf the same as Golf Solitaire?
No. Golf Solitaire is a one-player game. This Golf is a multi-player card game where each player tries to finish holes with the lowest score.
Does a pair of Twos score minus 4?
Under the standard rule, any pair in one column scores 0, Twos included. Some players let a pair of Twos keep minus 4: agree before dealing.
Can you take the discard and put it straight back?
No. A card taken from the discard pile must be swapped into your layout. Only a card drawn from the stock can be discarded straight away.
What is 4-card and 9-card Golf?
4-card Golf uses a 2 by 2 layout with two cards turned up. 9-card Golf uses a 3 by 3 layout with three turned up, and three of a kind in a row or column scores 0. Scoring is otherwise the same.
Does the player who goes out get a bonus or penalty?
Not in the standard game. Some groups double the score of a player who goes out but does not have the lowest score for the hole: agree that before you start.
How many players can play?
Two to four with one deck. With five to eight, shuffle two decks together.
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