Quick Rules
Golf is a quick one-player card game played with a standard 52-card deck. Thirty-five cards are dealt face up into seven columns of five. One more card is turned up to start the pile, and the rest wait face down in the deck. Your goal is to move every card from the columns onto the pile.
- One higher or one lower. You may play the last card of any column onto the pile if it is one rank above or below the card showing there. On a 7 you may play a 6 or an 8.
- Suits don't matter. Neither do colors. Only the rank counts.
- Up and down as you please. A run can change direction: 7, 8, 9, 8, 7, 6 is fine.
- Stuck? Turn the deck. Tap the deck to put a new card on the pile. The deck is used only once.
- Kings and Aces. Aces are low. Nothing can be played on a King, and only a 2 can be played on an Ace.
- Scoring. When the deck runs out and nothing fits, the deal is over. Your score is the number of cards left in the columns. Lower is better, and 0 is a win.
How to play here: tap the last card of a column and it goes to the pile, or drag it there. Tap the deck for a new card. The message box under the buttons always tells you what you can do next, and your score is shown beside the deal number.
Tips for a Lower Score
- Look for the longest run. Before you tap, trace each choice a few cards ahead. The first card that fits is often not the best one.
- Save Kings for the end of a run. A King stops everything, so play it only when you have nothing else to follow with.
- Count your Queens. Each King needs a Queen under it. Don't spend a Queen on a Jack if a King is still waiting.
- Take from tall columns. When two cards are equally good, play the one with more cards beneath it.
- Use Undo and Hint freely. Undo is unlimited, and Hint shows the card that starts the longest run.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this Golf Solitaire free?
Yes. You can play as many deals of Golf Solitaire as you like for free. There is no account to create, nothing to download, and no ads pop up between games.
Can every deal be won?
No. Golf depends a good deal on how the cards fall. With the standard rules only about one shuffled deal in five can be cleared at all, even with perfect play. So that you always have a fair chance, a new game here is checked first and deals that cannot be won are skipped. You can turn that off in Settings, and a deal you type in by number is never skipped. Even on a deal that can be won you have to choose well, because you cannot see the order of the deck.
Why is it called Golf?
Because of the scoring. Your score is the number of cards left on the table when the deal ends, and just as in the sport, the lowest score is the best. Many players play nine deals, like nine holes, and add up the scores.
Why can't I play a card on a King?
In the standard rules a King ends the run: nothing can be played on it, and you have to turn a new card from the deck. If you prefer a gentler game, open Settings and turn on A Queen may be played on a King, or Wrap around, which also lets an Ace go on a King and a King on an Ace.
What is a good score in Golf Solitaire?
Zero is a win and means you cleared every column. Leaving four cards or fewer is a very good deal, and five to nine is ordinary. Over a round of nine deals, a total of 36 or less is usually counted as playing to par.
Can I undo a move?
Yes, as many times as you like. Press the Undo button to take back your last move, including a card turned from the deck, and keep pressing it to go further back. Restart puts the same deal back at the beginning.
Does the game save my progress?
Yes. Your game is saved in your browser after every move, so you can close the page and pick up where you left off later on the same device. Your statistics are saved the same way.
Like clearing a table one card at a time? Try Tri Peaks solitaire, which uses the same one-up, one-down play, or Pyramid solitaire, where you match pairs that add up to 13. For a longer sit-down game there is always classic Klondike solitaire.
More Free Games
- Klondike Solitaire The classic solitaire. Draw one or three, with big cards, hints and unlimited undo.
- FreeCell Every card is face up and almost every deal can be won. Use the four free cells wisely.
- Spider Solitaire Build runs from King down to Ace. Play with one, two or four suits.
- Pyramid Solitaire Clear the pyramid by pairing cards that add up to 13. Kings go on their own.
- Tri Peaks Solitaire Clear three peaks by playing cards one higher or one lower than the last. Quick and relaxing.
- Yukon Solitaire Like Klondike with no stock: move any face-up group, even out of order, and dig out the hidden cards.
- Scorpion Solitaire Build four same-suit runs from King down to Ace by moving whole groups of cards.
- Canfield Solitaire A classic with a 13-card reserve. Build up by suit from whatever card starts the foundations.
- Clock Solitaire Deal the cards around a clock face and turn them up one by one. Finish before the fourth King appears.
- Crescent Solitaire Two decks in a crescent of sixteen piles. Build up from Aces and down from Kings.
- Addiction Solitaire Line up each suit from 2 to King in four rows by moving cards into the gaps. Three shuffles to help.
- Chicken Foot Match numbers, build a chicken foot from every double, and finish 10 rounds with the lowest score.
- Mexican Train Build your own train, ride the shared Mexican train, and keep your score low over 13 rounds.
- Dominoes The classic draw game with double-six tiles. Match the ends, draw when you are stuck, first to 100 wins.
- All Fives Dominoes Score whenever the open ends add up to a multiple of five. Also known as Muggins.
- Texas 42 The trick-taking domino game from Texas: bid, name trumps and win tricks with your partner.
- Hearts Avoid hearts and the queen of spades, or shoot the moon and stick everyone else with the points.
- Spades Bid your tricks with your partner, then make your bid. Spades are always trump.
- Hand and Foot The family canasta game: play your hand, then your foot, and build clean and dirty books with your partner.
- Canasta Meld sets of a kind, freeze the pile, and build canastas with your partner. Classic American scoring.
- Cribbage Count fifteens, pairs and runs, and peg your way around the board to 121.
- Gin Rummy Make sets and runs, knock when your leftover cards are low, and go for gin.
- Euchre The fast trick-taking game of the Midwest: call trump, use your bowers and take three tricks.
- Rummy Draw, meld sets and runs, lay off on the table and be first to go out.
- Rummy 500 Score points for every card you meld, take from deep in the discard pile and race to 500.
- Whist The classic partnership trick game with no bidding. Take seven tricks to score.
- Oh Hell! Say exactly how many tricks you will take, then take that many: no more, no fewer.
- Pinochle Bid, meld and take tricks with a 48-card deck. Partnership auction pinochle.
- Bridge Contract bridge with a computer partner: bid your contract, then make it.
- Crazy Eights Match the suit or the number, change the suit with an eight, and be first to play all your cards.
- Switch The British cousin of Crazy Eights, with cards that skip, reverse and make the next player draw.
- Go Fish Ask for the cards you need, collect sets of four and make the most books.
- Old Maid Pair up your cards and don't be the one left holding the odd queen.
- War Turn a card each; the higher card wins both. The simplest card game there is.
- Spit A race to play your cards up or down on two piles, with a slow pace option so nobody is rushed.
- Idiot Play equal or higher cards, pick up the pile when you can't, and don't be the last one holding cards.
- Thirteen Shed your cards in singles, pairs, triples and runs. Twos are high. Also called Tien Len.
- Escoba The Spanish fishing game: capture cards that add up to 15 and sweep the table.
- Briscola Italy's favorite trick game with a 40-card deck. Win the valuable cards and reach 61 points.
- Skat Germany's three-player classic: bid for the right to play alone against the other two.
- Manni A three-player trick-taking game from Iceland, played to ten points.
- Kings in the Corners Build down in alternating colors around the deck, put Kings in the corners, and be first to empty your hand.
- Mahjong Solitaire Match pairs of free tiles to clear the board. Large, high-contrast tiles and every deal can be solved.
- Jigsaw Puzzles Relaxing picture puzzles from 12 to 100 pieces, with big pieces that snap into place.
- Sudoku Fill the grid so every row, column and box has 1 to 9. Big numbers, notes and three levels.
- Word Search Find the hidden words in a grid of large letters. New puzzles by theme, as many as you like.
- Minesweeper Use the numbers to work out where the mines are. Big squares and a clear flag button.
- Triangles Take turns drawing lines between dots and claim every triangle you close.
- Checkers American checkers on a big board. Jump, get kinged and clear the other side.
- Backgammon Race your checkers home and bear them off before the computer does. Fair dice you can check.
- Reversi Trap the other color between your discs to flip them. Most discs at the end wins.
- Chess A friendly game of chess with large pieces, hints and computer levels from beginner up.
- Sea Battle Hide your fleet, call your shots and sink every ship before yours go down.
- Yacht Dice Roll five dice up to three times a turn and fill your score sheet. The classic dice game.
- Farkle Roll six dice, set aside the scoring ones and decide when to stop before you lose it all.