Golf Solitaire Rules

How to Play Golf Solitaire

Golf solitaire is a fast-paced single-player card game where the objective mirrors the sport it is named after: achieve the lowest score possible. Cards remaining in the tableau at the end count as strokes, so fewer is better. Unlike most solitaire games where hidden cards create mystery, every tableau card in Golf is dealt face-up, giving you full information from the start. A standard 52-card deck is used, and a typical round takes just two to three minutes — making it ideal for quick sessions. Golf solitaire rewards observation, sequencing decisions, and knowing when to break a chain to preserve future options.

Setting Up the Tableau

Deal seven columns of five cards each (35 cards total), all face-up and slightly overlapping so every card is visible. Only the bottom card of each column (the one with no card covering it) is available for play at any given time.

The remaining 17 cards are placed face-down as the stock pile. Turn the top card of the stock face-up onto the waste pile to begin the game. This first waste card is your starting base.

Gameplay: Removing Cards

On each turn, look at the top card of the waste pile. You may remove any uncovered bottom card from a tableau column that is exactly one rank higher or lower than the waste card. Suit is irrelevant. The removed card is placed on the waste pile and becomes the new base for the next removal.

For example, if the waste card is a 7, you may remove any exposed 6 or 8 from the tableau. If you remove an 8, the next removal must be a 7 or 9.

Kings are dead ends in standard Golf: no card can be played on top of a King. When a King lands on the waste pile, you must draw from the stock. Some variants allow Ace-King wrapping to soften this rule, but the classic version does not.

Using the Stock Pile

When no available tableau card is one rank away from the waste card — or when a King sits on top of the waste pile — draw the next card from the stock. The drawn card is placed face-up on the waste pile and becomes the new base. You draw one card at a time, and the stock is never recycled. Once all 17 stock cards have been drawn and no moves remain, the round ends.

Scoring: Counting Strokes

Golf solitaire borrows its scoring language from the sport of golf. When the round ends, count the number of cards still remaining in the tableau — each one is a stroke:

• 0 strokes — you cleared the entire tableau. A perfect round, equivalent to a hole-in-one on every hole.
• 1 to 5 strokes — an excellent result on most deals.
• 6 to 15 strokes — a solid game with room for improvement.
• 16+ strokes — a tough deal or missed opportunities during play.

For a multi-round session, add your strokes across nine or eighteen rounds to get a cumulative course score, just like in a real round of golf. The lowest total wins.

Winning and Losing

In Golf solitaire there is no strict win or loss — every completed round produces a score. Clearing the entire tableau (zero strokes) is the best possible outcome. Because not all deals are solvable, the practical goal is to minimize your stroke count on each deal and track your performance over multiple rounds.

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