Golf Solitaire Objective
The goal of Golf Solitaire is to clear the tableau by pairing cards that are one rank higher or lower than the
top foundation pile card.
The tricky part is that you can’t wrap ranks, meaning that an ace can’t be placed on a king and a king can’t be
placed on an ace. If you want an easier version, you can try Easy
Golf Solitaire in which you can wrap ranks.
This card game gets its name from the fact that some people play nine scored rounds, shooting for the lowest
score.
How to Play Golf Solitaire
Before beginning gameplay, it’s important to understand three key areas of the layout, which uses 52 playing
cards.
- Tableau: This area consists of seven columns of five face-up cards each. Only the bottom card of each
column is playable. Covered cards must be uncovered to be put into play.
- Stockpile: The stockpile consists of 16 facedown cards. You can flip cards from the stockpile to the
foundation pile when you get stuck.
- Foundation pile: The foundation pile starts with one face-up card. You pair cards from the tableau
with the top foundation pile card.
Now that you’re familiar with the layout, it's time to start playing by following these Golf Solitaire rules.
- Move exposed cards onto the foundation pile if they are one rank higher or lower than the top foundation
pile card. Exposed cards must be completely visible. At the beginning of the game, only the
bottom-most card in every pile is exposed. You pair by rank, regardless of suit or color, so if the top
foundation pile card is a nine of spades and there is an eight of hearts available, place it on the
foundation pile. This becomes the new top card used for pairing.
- Ranks can’t be wrapped. This means that you can’t place an ace on a king or a king on an ace, unless
you play the easy version of Golf Solitaire. The rank order is as follows: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J,
Q, K.
- When you get stuck, draw from the stockpile. If you can’t move any more cards or choose not to, flip
a card from the tableau to the foundation pile.
- Only use the stockpile once. You can only run through the stockpile once. Once you’ve flipped all the
cards in the stockpile face up into the foundation pile, the stockpile is exhausted. If you haven’t cleared
the tableau by this point, you either lose or can score your game.
Golf Solitaire Scoring
If you’re struggling to clear the tableau or want to compete with friends, you can manually score your game. Like
in golf, the lowest score wins and the top score loses.
Once you can’t make any more moves, you’ve completed the round. Tally up your points by:
- Adding a point for each card left in the tableau. For example, if there are five cards left, you get
+5 points.
- Subtracting a point for each card left in the stockpile if the tableau has been cleared. For example,
if you clear the tableau and have three cards in the stockpile, you get -3 points.
At the end of nine rounds, total your points.
Golf Solitaire Strategy
While this Solitaire card game is simple, it’s easy to get stuck if you don’t plan ahead. Use these strategies
for the best chances of winning.
- Use the stockpile only when necessary. Since you can only run through the stockpile once and the
stockpile only has 16 cards, it’s crucial to use it only when no other moves are available.
- Select cards that will help you pair long sequences. This allows you to clear more cards from the
tableau using fewer stockpile cards.
- Be mindful of aces and kings. Since kings can only be played on queens and aces can only be played on
twos, keep track of those cards and play them strategically to avoid getting stuck.
- Use the undo button if needed. If you play a card to the foundation pile, but see a better move
instead, use the undo button to correct your play.
If you enjoy Golf Solitaire, challenge yourself with other pairing and matching games like Mahjong, TriPeaks Solitaire, Pyramid Solitaire, and more. You can also
try our other popular games like Spider Solitaire,
FreeCell, or Classic
Solitaire. You can play all Solitaire Bliss games online for free.
