Golf Solitaire

How to Play Golf Solitaire

In a nutshell: Clear seven columns onto the waste - Lowest score wins. You play with 1 deck (52 cards), it's rated simple, subtle, and roughly 1 in 3 deals clear.

Golf deals 35 cards into seven face-up columns. Like TriPeaks, you play cards one rank up or down onto the waste, but with no wrap-around and no second chances - Every leftover card counts against your score, just like strokes in golf. Golf is deceptively simple: a single rule governs every move, yet the strict structure - No rank wrap-around and only one pass through the stock - Means many deals cannot be cleared at all. That turns Golf into a scoring game as much as a winning one, where players compete to leave as few cards behind as possible and chase the elusive hole-in-one of an empty tableau. Its tiny footprint and quick rounds have made it a fixture of solitaire collections for decades.

Golf at a glance

Goal	Move all 35 tableau cards to the waste pile. Leftover cards are penalty points.
Decks used	1 standard 52-card deck - 52 cards in play
Difficulty	Simple, subtle
Chance of winning	Roughly 1 in 3 deals clear
Family	Matching

Step by step

History of Golf

Golf solitaire is a tableau-clearing patience named for its scoring rather than its layout. Just as in the sport, the aim is a low score: every card left stranded when the stock runs out counts against you, and clearing the whole board is the equivalent of a perfect round.

The game sits in the same family as TriPeaks and other "playing off" patiences, in which cards are discarded onto a single waste pile in ascending or descending order. Golf is generally considered the more austere ancestor of that group, because classic rules forbid rank wrap-around - Nothing plays on a King - And allow only a single pass through the stock, with no redeals.

Golf became widely known through home computer and mobile solitaire collections, where its tiny footprint and short rounds made it an easy companion game. Its enduring appeal is the tension between a simple rule and a stingy structure: many deals cannot be fully cleared, so players compete on score, chasing that elusive hole-in-one where the entire tableau melts away in a single long chain.

How to Win Golf: Strategy

💡 Top tip: Count duplicated ranks - With four of each rank across 35 cards, some chains only exist once. Spend them wisely.

Winning tips, in order of importance

1. Kings are dead ends: clear cards sitting on top of Kings early, and never strand a needed rank beneath one.
2. Prefer plays from tall columns to keep all seven columns alive.
3. Look two ranks ahead: a 5 on the waste with a 6 and 7 exposed is a guaranteed three-card chain.
4. Late game, prioritize columns that still hide many cards over easy singles.
5. Since there is no wrap-around, decide early whether a chain will run up or down and protect the connector cards that keep it going.
6. When a card sits on top of a King, clear it before the King blocks the column, because nothing can ever be played onto that King to free it later.

Advanced tactics for Golf

1. Plan multi-card chains before committing, since a 5 on the waste with an exposed 6 and 7 can become a guaranteed run if you play them in the right order.
2. Treat Kings as dead ends; clear any cards resting on a King promptly and never bury a rank you still need beneath one.
3. Spread your plays across all seven columns so none becomes stranded, because a single blocked column of leftover cards ruins an otherwise clean round.
4. Since there is no wrap-around, decide early which direction (up or down) a given chain must run and don't waste the connector cards that keep it alive.
5. Count how many copies of a pivotal rank remain; some chains can only be completed once, so spend those cards where they clear the most cards.
6. With few stock flips left, favor plays that empty columns hiding many cards over easy single removals that leave a tall column behind.
7. When two plays are otherwise equal, choose the one that preserves the most future connections on the waste rather than the one that clears the flashiest card now.

Common Golf mistakes to avoid

• Leaving cards stacked on a King - nothing plays onto a King without wrap-around, so clear those cards before it blocks the column.
• Draining one column while others sit tall - spread your plays so no single column gets stranded with hidden cards.
• Ignoring multi-card chains - a 5 on the waste with an exposed 6 and 7 is a guaranteed run if you play them in order.
• Burning a scarce connector rank on an easy single - some chains exist only once, so spend those cards where they clear the most.

Golf Variations

With wrap-around

A popular relaxation lets Kings connect back to Aces, so chains can run continuously around the rank order; this raises the win rate well above the strict version.

Multiple stock passes

Some rule sets allow recycling the waste or extra stock deals, greatly softening Golf's single-pass difficulty.

Black Hole

A close cousin dealt from a central foundation with all seventeen piles of three, building both up and down with wrap, often more solvable than standard Golf.

All in a Row

A Golf-style variant that lays all cards out at once with no stock, turning the game into a pure sequencing puzzle.

Golf scoring vs. clear-to-win

Casual apps often keep cumulative stroke scores across rounds like a full round of golf, while others simply mark each deal as won only if the board is fully cleared.

Golf FAQ

Golf guides & strategy

• The complete solitaire glossary
• Are all solitaire games winnable? The odds
• More solitaire strategy guides on the blog

Still have a question about Golf Solitaire? Browse the full solitaire FAQ, look up a term like matching or simple, subtle in the solitaire glossary, or compare Golf with the other games in the rules for every solitaire.

Last updated 2026-07-03.