Golf card game rules

General rules

• Golf can be played with 2 to 6 players.
• You use a standard 52-card deck, without jokers.
• If you’re playing with 2 or 3 players, use one deck. For 4 to 6 players, use two decks (104 cards total).
• The objective is to end the game with the lowest total score.

Dealing

1. Each player is dealt 6 cards face-down in two rows of three. Players may not look at their own cards.
2. Each player then turns 2 of their cards face-up.
3. The remaining cards are placed face-down in the center as the draw pile.
4. The top card of the draw pile is turned over to start the discard pile.

Gameplay

• The goal is to have the lowest possible total of your 6 cards.
• Players take turns in clockwise order, starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
• On your turn, you must draw one card, either from the draw pile or the top of the discard pile. Then you have two options:
  • Swap the drawn card with one of your six cards (the swapped-in card is placed face-up). Place the old card on the discard pile.
  • Discard the drawn card without making a swap.
  • You cannot pick up a card from the discard pile and discard it again in the same turn.
• The round ends immediately when one player has turned all 6 of their cards face-up.

Points cards

The value of each card is as follows:

• Ace = 1 point
• 2 = –2 points (very valuable!)
• 3 through 10 = face value
• Jack and Queen = 10 points
• King = 0 points

Special rule for pairs in columns:

• If you have two cards of the same value in the same column (stacked vertically), the entire column counts as 0 points. For example, two Jacks in a column cancel each other out and do not cost you 20 points. The same applies to two 2s, which do not earn minus points in this case.

Golf card game scoring

After each round, players total their points and write down their scores. A full game consists of 9 rounds (9 holes). The player with the lowest total score at the end of 9 rounds wins the game.

Golf card game rules PDF

Would you like to print the rules for Golf? You can download the PDF using the button below.

Variants

The rules above describe the most common version, known as 6-card Golf. Below are two popular variants:

4-Card Golf

• Each player receives 4 cards, laid out in 2 rows of 2.
• Two of the cards are turned face-up at the start.
• Players may “knock” to signal the final round. After a player knocks, each other player gets one more turn before scoring.
• The round does not automatically end when all cards are face-up.
• Suitable for 3 to 7 players.
• All other rules are the same as in 6-card Golf.

9-Card Golf

• Each player receives 9 cards, arranged in 3 rows of 3.
• Three of the cards are turned face-up.
• Gameplay and rules are otherwise the same as in 6-card Golf.

Don’t confuse this card game with Golf solitaire. That is a different single-player card game. You can find its rules on the Golf solitaire rules page.