It’s estimated that one third of people play golf and now with the card game Golf Solitaire you can play right at your kitchen table with just a deck of cards. Another name for this game is One Foundation.
It’s no surprise to us that so many people want to play golf as we have very successful posts on Golf the card game, Dice Golf, Straight Golf dice and of course our very popular Whacky Putt the mini golf dice game.
In this post we’ll tell you the rules for Golf Solitaire, how to play and how to play two player golf Solitaire. Let’s get to it.
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What you Need for Golf Solitaire
You will need one deck of cards with the jokers removed and some table space.
How to Play Golf Solitaire
To start, shuffle the cards and then deal them out on the table in seven columns of five rows with the faces showing and the cards overlapping in traditional solitaire fashion. This layout of cards is called the tableau. Next, place the remaining deck of cards face down.
To start playing, flip over the top card of the draw pile. This is the discard pile. Now you can place any card from the tableau that is either one more or one less than the top card of the discard pile.
Only the cards that are exposed in the tableau can be moved. That is you can only the cards at the bottom of a column. When you can move no more cards, flip over the next card form the discard pile.
Aces are low and therefore you cannot place an ace on top of a king. (See the variations below.)
When all the cards are gone from the draw pile and you can’t move any more cards form the tableau, the game is over.
Winning the Gold Solitaire Card Game
If you were able to empty the tableau the game is not only over, you have won the game.
Scoring Golf Solitaire
If you wish to keep score, when the game ends count the cards that are left in the tableau. This is your score.
If you were able to empty the tableau, then count the cards left in the draw deck and this number is a minus number. For example, if you have here cards left then your score would be minus 3. If you are playing a longer, multiple rounds game then the number would be subtracted from you overall score.
Golf Solitaire Variations and Rule Changes
Double Deck
To make the game longer, you can play with a double deck of cards. This may increase the chances of winning.
Turn the Corner
In some variations of Golf Solitaire you can place an ace on a king and a king on an ace. This is known as turning the corner. When you can place an ace on a king, a fun name for it is Putt Putt.
Similarly, some variations say that you can’t place a queen on a king. If you have a king on the discard pile, you need to flip a card from the draw pile. This makes the game harder with more strategy as you want to make sure you know where all the queens are located.
Nine Rounds
To make it a longer game, you can play nine hands, keeping an overall score as you play. In this way of playing you win the game if you keep your score under the par of 36. Other variations say that you win if your score is under 45.
Queen Cover
If all the queens are coved by kings, there is a re-deal with no score for the re-deal.
Wild Jokers
In some games of Golf Solitaire, you keep the jokers in. The jokers are then wild being able to be used as any card in the deck.
Player’s Choice
Some games have the player choose a card from the tableau as the first card in the discard pile instead of the top card from the deck.
Two Player Golf Solitaire
To play Golf Solitaire with two players, each player has their own deck and sets up their own game. Each player plays as they would if they were playing by themselves, until the end. When both players have finished their games, they count the cards they have in their discard pile. The player with the most cards in the discard pile wins. If both players have emptied the tableau, then they count the card left their draw piles. The player with the most card wins.
Keeping score in Two Player
If you wish to keep score, you can either keep track of the amount of holes that each player wins. The player who wins the most holes wins the game.
Or you can keep track of the score of how many cards are left in the tableau. Each hole’s score is added to the previous hole’s score. Remember to subtract any cards left in a player’s draw pile if the empty the tableau. The player with the lowest score at the end of nine rounds is the winner.
Multi-Player Golf
You can play Golf Solitaire with more players. Play as you would in the two player game with each player keeping their own score. The player who either wins the most holes or has the lowest score is the winner.
Hole in One Fun
The card game Golf Solitaire is easy to learn, fun to play and players of all ages will love it.
And if you love golf games be sure to check out Whacky Putt, Golf card game, Golf Dice, Straight Golf and Play Nine. You can get your copy of Whacky Putt, and all the seasonal holes, in the Family Game Shelf Shop. If you need some new card games, shop here. Canadians can shop cards here.
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