Golf card game: 6-card Golf rules and scorecard
Golf is a draw-and-swap game where, as on a golf course, the low score wins. Everyone has six face-down cards and spends the hand swapping them for better ones and trying to line up pairs, which cancel out. A game is nine deals, or "holes". This page has the rules, a layout scorer that adds up a hand for you (pairs, twos and Kings included), and a nine- or eighteen-hole scorecard.
Golf in 30 seconds
- Two to four players, one 52-card deck. Deal six cards face down to each player in two rows of three.
- Everyone turns two of their cards face up. Turn the top of the stock face up to start the discard pile.
- On your turn, draw from the stock or take the top discard. Swap it for any of your six cards (the new card goes face up) and discard the old one, or, if you drew from the stock, just discard it.
- The hand ends when someone has all six cards face up.
- Ace 1, two minus 2, 3 to 10 face value, J and Q 10, K 0. A pair in a column is 0. Low score after nine holes wins.
Layout scorer
Golf scorecard
Game length and scoring (Bicycle and Pagat unless you change them)
How to play six-card Golf
Setup
Deal six cards face down to each player, one at a time. Each player lays theirs in two rows of three without looking. Put the rest face down as the stock and turn its top card up to start the discard pile. Each player then turns any two of their own cards face up. The rest stay face down and may not be peeked at.
A turn
- Take either the top card of the stock or the top discard.
- Swap it for any one of your six cards. The new card goes in face up; the card it replaces goes face up on the discard pile. You may swap out a face-down card without looking at it first.
- If you drew from the stock and do not want the card, discard it instead. You cannot take the top discard and put it straight back.
End of the hand
The hand ends when one player's six cards are all face up. Everyone turns their remaining cards up and scores. Deal passes left, and after nine holes the lowest total wins.
Golf scoring
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace | 1 |
| Two | -2 |
| Three to ten | Face value |
| Jack, Queen | 10 |
| King | 0 |
| Two equal cards in one column | 0 for the column |
Worked example: top row 5, King, 2; bottom row 5, 9, 2. The fives pair (0), King and 9 make 9, and the twos pair (0, so their minus value is lost). Total: 9. Another: top Q, J, A over 3, 7, Q. No pairs: 13 + 17 + 11 = 41. Equal cards side by side in a row do not cancel; only columns count.
Because a pair of twos scores 0 rather than minus 4, a lone two (minus 2) helps you more than a pair of them. Kings and twos are the only cards you are happy to see without a partner.
Where the sources differ
- The last turn. Bicycle and Pagat's main rules end the hand as soon as one player's last card is face up. Pagat adds that many players give everyone else one more turn.
- The first two cards. Bicycle and Pagat let you turn up any two. Pagat lists tables that require them in the same column, or not in the same column.
- Jokers. Not in Bicycle's game. Pagat lists jokers worth minus 2 (with twos then worth plus 2), and other tables use minus 5, minus 3 or 0.
- Number of holes. Nine in all three sources; 18 for a longer game (Pagat). Some play to 100 instead (Pagat, for four-card Golf).
House rules in the scorecard: jokers, keeping the minus value of a pair of twos, and a minus 10 bonus for four equal cards in two columns. Tables that use other bonuses can type the hole score in by hand.
Tips for Golf
- Build pairs before you lower singles. A pair of Queens costs nothing, so a Queen above a face-down card is worth keeping if another Queen might come.
- Watch the discard pile. Do not throw away the card the next player needs to finish a pair.
- Count before you go out. Turning your last card ends the hand for everyone. Only do it when your total is low or the others are about to beat you.
- Swap blind early. Replacing a face-down card with a 3 or a King is usually a good trade, since the hidden card averages more than that.
Play Golf online or at home
Play at home: one standard deck for two to four players (two decks for five to eight), and the scorecard above.
Golf questions
How do you score Golf the card game?
Ace 1, two minus 2, three to ten at face value, Jack and Queen 10, King 0. Two equal cards in the same column cancel to 0 for that column, even a pair of twos. Add the three columns; lowest total after nine holes wins.
How many cards do you get in Golf?
Six, laid face down in two rows of three. Before play, each player turns any two face up. Four-card, eight-card and nine-card versions exist too, but six-card Golf is the one most rule books describe.
When does a round of Golf end?
When one player has all six cards face up. Bicycle and Pagat end the hand right there; Pagat adds that many players give everyone else one more turn first. Agree which before you start.
How many people can play Golf?
Two to four with one deck. Pagat says to add a second deck with more than four players and a third with more than eight.
Is the card game Golf the same as Golf solitaire?
No. Golf solitaire is a one-player game where you clear seven columns onto a waste pile. The Golf on this page is a multiplayer draw-and-swap game with a six-card layout.
