How to Play the Golf Card Game: Rules and Scoring
In most card games a big score is good news. In Golf, it means you had a bad round. Each player builds a small grid of face-down cards, swaps in better ones turn by turn, and tries to finish every “hole” with as few points as possible. This guide covers the golf card game rules for the classic six-card version from the deal to the final hole, plus scoring examples, the 4-, 8- and 9-card games, and strategy.
Key takeaways
- Golf is a draw-and-discard game where the lowest score wins, played over nine deals called holes.
- In 6-card Golf, each player has six face-down cards in two rows of three and turns any two face up before play starts.
- On your turn you draw from the stock or take the top discard, then swap it into your grid or, with a stock card, throw it away.
- Aces score 1, twos score minus 2, jacks and queens 10, kings 0, and other cards their number.
- Two cards of the same rank in one column cancel out and score 0.
What you need
The golf card game needs a standard 52-card deck, something to keep score with, and at least two players. The rules site pagat.com says one deck covers two to four players in the six-card game, with a second deck for more than four. Wikipedia’s Golf card game article suggests two decks from four players up.
Pagat says the game is best for about four players. It also goes by other names, including Polish Polka and Polish Poker, and the six-card game is sometimes called Hara Kiri.
The deal and setup
The dealer shuffles and deals six cards face down to each player, one at a time. Nobody looks at them. Each player arranges their cards in a grid of two rows and three columns, so every card sits in one of three columns with a partner above or below it.
The rest of the deck goes face down in the middle as the stock. The top card of the stock is turned face up to start the discard pile.
Before anyone takes a turn, every player turns any two of their own cards face up. The other four stay hidden until they are replaced, turned up during play, or revealed at the end.
How to play the golf card game: a turn
The player to the dealer’s left goes first, and play moves clockwise. On your turn you take one card, from one of two places:
- The stock: draw the top card, which you can look at before deciding what to do.
- The discard pile: take the face-up top card.
Then you do one of the following:
- Swap it into your grid. Put the new card face up in any position. The card that was there goes face up on the discard pile. If you replace a face-down card, you discard it without looking at it first.
- Discard it. This is only allowed for a card drawn from the stock. It goes face up on the discard pile and your grid stays as it was.
A card taken from the discard pile must go into your grid. Both pagat and Wikipedia state that you can’t take the top discard and simply throw it back.
The flip rule
Many groups add one more step: when you discard a card you drew from the stock, you must also turn one of your face-down cards face up. Pagat lists this as a common variation and notes the exception that you don’t flip when only one face-down card is left. Wikipedia describes the flip as optional depending on the variant. Agree before you start whether you are playing with it.
How a hole ends
The hole ends when one player has all six of their cards face up. Rule sources differ on what happens next:
- Pagat’s main rule: play stops as soon as the last of a player’s six cards is face up, and the hole is scored.
- The common alternative: every other player gets one more turn, then the hole is scored. Pagat says many people play this way, and Wikipedia mentions it too.
The extra turn makes going out a real decision. If you flip your last card while your total is higher than your opponents’, they each get one more chance to improve while you sit still. When the hole is over, everyone turns their remaining face-down cards up and adds up their score.
Golf card game scoring
The golf card game rules for scoring fit in one small table. Every card in your grid counts toward your score for the hole:
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace | 1 |
| Two | Minus 2 |
| 3 through 10 | Face value |
| Jack or queen | 10 |
| King | 0 |
| Two equal cards in the same column | 0 for the pair |
The pair rule is the heart of the game. Two cards of the same rank, one above the other in the same column, score nothing together, whatever their rank. A pair of queens is worth 0, the same as a pair of kings. Under the basic rules even a pair of twos scores 0 rather than minus 4, which means two twos are better off in different columns. Pairs only count vertically; two matching cards side by side in a row score their normal values.
A scoring example
Say your grid looks like this at the end of a hole:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top row | 5♠ | K♥ | J♦ |
| Bottom row | 5♦ | 2♣ | 9♠ |
Column 1 is a pair of 5s, so it scores 0. Column 2 is a king (0) and a two (minus 2), so it scores minus 2. Column 3 is a jack (10) and a 9, so it scores 19. Your total for the hole is 17, and nearly all of it comes from that one bad column.
Winning the game
A full game is nine deals, matching the nine holes of a round of golf, and some groups play 18. Scores carry over from hole to hole, and the player with the lowest total at the end wins. Thanks to the twos, a great hole can even score below zero.
Golf card game variants
6-card Golf is the version most people mean, but pagat and Wikipedia describe several other sizes.
4-card Golf
Each player gets four cards face down in a two-by-two square. Before play, you may look once at the two cards nearest you, then they go back face down. On your turn you draw from the stock or the discard pile and swap the card into your square without looking at the card you replace, or you draw from the stock and discard it. Instead of drawing, you can knock. Each other player then gets one more turn, and the hand is scored. Pagat calls this version Turtle, and lists penalties some groups use when the knocker doesn’t have the lowest score.
8-card Golf
Pagat describes an eight-card game laid out in four columns of two, using two decks with four jokers. On your first turn you turn one whole column face up. Jokers are worth minus 5, kings 0, and a pair in a column scores 0, while two equal pairs in two columns score minus 10. When a player turns their last card, everyone else gets one more turn.
9-card Golf
Also called Crazy Nines or Nines, this version gives each player nine cards in a three-by-three square, with three of them turned up at the start in pagat’s version. Play and scoring follow 6-card Golf, except a column needs three equal cards, not two, to score zero. Pagat lists it as a game for two or more decks, while Wikipedia says one deck is enough for up to three players. House rules often let rows and diagonals of three count as well.
Other house rules
Scoring is where groups tinker most. Common changes include adding jokers worth minus 2 (with twos then worth plus 2), letting a pair of twos keep its minus 4, and giving a big bonus such as minus 10 for four equal cards in two columns.
Strategy tips for 6 card Golf
Hunt pairs, not just low cards. Once a jack is face up in a column, the matching jack turns 20 points into 0. That swing beats most low cards you could put there.
Value the unknowns. A face-down card averages a little over 5 points. Swapping a king, ace or two in for a hidden card is almost always worth it. Swapping a 9 in blind usually isn’t.
Mind what you throw away. Every discard is an offer to the next player. If they have a queen showing, don’t hand them the queen that completes their pair.
Time your exit. Under the last-turn rule, going out only pays when your total is clearly lower than what your opponents are showing. Count their face-up cards before you flip your last one.
Play Golf online
The quickest way to learn the golf card game rules is to play a few holes. Our free Golf card game runs in your browser against one, two or three computer players. It uses the six-card rules above with the flip rule and the one-last-turn ending, and you can choose a 9-hole or 18-hole game.
Not to be confused with the one-player patience game of the same name: if that is the Golf you were looking for, read our guide to Golf Solitaire. For another fast draw-and-discard game, try Crazy Eights.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards do you get in the Golf card game?
In the standard version, six. They are dealt face down and laid out in two rows of three, and each player turns two of them face up before play begins. Four-, eight- and nine-card versions also exist.
What is a king worth in Golf?
A king is worth 0 points, which makes it one of the best cards in the game. Only a two, worth minus 2, scores lower. A pair of kings in a column also scores 0.
Do two 2s in a column score minus 4?
Not under the basic rules. Any pair of equal cards in a column scores 0, including twos. Some house rules let a pair of twos keep its minus 4, so check before you play.
Can you take a card from the discard pile and discard it again?
No. A card taken from the discard pile must be swapped into your grid. Only a card drawn from the stock can go straight back onto the pile.
What happens when a player turns all their cards face up?
The hole ends. In the most common version, every other player gets one final turn first, then all cards are revealed and scored. Under pagat’s main rule, the hole ends right away.
Conclusion
Golf is easy to learn: six cards, two flips, draw and swap, and the lowest score wins. The depth comes from the column pairs and from deciding when to end a hole. When you want something even quicker between rounds, the Chrome Dino game on our homepage is ready to run.
