Golf Card Game Rules and Scorecard

How to play the golf card game

A game of golf is a series of short deals called holes, usually nine. On every hole you try to end up with the cheapest cards in front of you, and scores add up hole by hole.

Players and decks. Use one ordinary 52-card deck, jokers removed, for two to four players. From five players, shuffle a second deck in, and add a third if nine or more are playing.

Dealer and discard pile. Choose a dealer for the first hole; after that the deal moves one seat to the left each hole. The dealer gives everyone six cards face down, one at a time, and stacks the rest face down as the stock. One card from the stock goes face up beside it as the first discard.

1. Deal six cards face downEach player sets out their six cards in two rows of three, without looking at them.
2. Flip two cardsEveryone turns any two of their own cards face up, so the whole table can see them.
3. Draw a cardStarting with the player on the dealer's left, take either the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile.
4. Swap, or discard and flipPut the new card in place of any card in your layout and lay the old one face up on the discard pile. If you drew from the stock and do not want the card, discard it and turn one of your face-down cards up instead.
5. Match cards in a columnA matching pair stacked in one column scores nothing at all, so pairs are worth chasing.
6. End the roundOnce a player has all six cards face up, every other player gets one last turn. Then everyone turns their remaining cards up.
7. Count and write the scoreAdd up each layout with the card values below and write every player's total for the hole on the scorecard.
8. Play nine holesPass the deal one seat to the left and play again. After nine holes, the player with the lowest total wins.

End of the round. The player who turns up their sixth card does not score right away: each other player takes one more turn first. After that, all face-down cards are revealed and every layout is scored. If the stock runs out before the round ends, set the top discard aside, shuffle the rest of the discard pile and use it as the new stock.

Turn rules worth agreeing on. A new card can replace any card in your layout, face up or face down, and the card you remove goes face up on the discard pile. If you take the top discard you must keep it rather than throw it straight back.

Golf card game scoring

Toggle note. House rules change two values more than any others, so the scorecard has a switch for each. Twos count −2 and Kings count 0 are both on by default. Turn one off and the Count cards helper scores twos as 2 or kings as 10 instead. Hole totals you type yourself are always kept as typed.

Worked example. Your top row is 5, king, 2 and your bottom row is 5, 7, 9. The left column is a pair of fives, so it scores 0. The middle column is a king (0) and a 7, which makes 7. The right column is a 2 (−2) and a 9, which also makes 7. Your hole score is 0 + 7 + 7 = 14. If your group counts twos as plus 2, the right column becomes 11 and the hole is 18.

A pair of twos in one column still cancels to 0 under the usual rule, although some groups let the pair keep its −4. Jokers are sometimes added as extra low cards; agree on their value and type those hole totals directly.

Write every player's score after each hole and keep a running total. Low is good: the lowest total after nine holes wins. Players who tie share the win, or play one more hole to settle it.

Prefer paper? Print blank scorecard gives you nine hole rows and six player columns on one page, with the card values printed underneath.

How to play 4-card golf

Four-card golf is a common house variant, and its rules vary from table to table. This is a widely played version.

Each player gets four cards face down in a two-by-two square. Before the first turn, you may look once at the two cards nearest you, then lay them back face down without showing anyone. From then on you have to remember them, which is what makes this version tricky.

Turns work as in six-card golf: take the top card of the stock or the discard pile, then either swap it for one of your four cards or discard it. Instead of drawing, a player who believes they hold the lowest hand can knock. Everyone else then has one final turn, and all cards are turned up and scored. Some groups skip knocking and end the round when one player has all four cards face up.

Cards keep their six-card values. Most groups also let a matching pair in a column score zero; a few use rows instead, and some do not cancel pairs at all. On the scorecard, choose 4-card golf and type each player's hole total.

How to play 9-card golf

Nine-card golf is a common house variant with several scoring styles. Agree on the matching rule before you deal.

Each player gets nine cards face down in a three-by-three grid. The stock goes in the middle with one card turned up to start the discard pile. Nine cards each uses up a deck quickly, so most groups shuffle two decks together. Players begin by turning two or three of their cards face up, depending on the house rule.

Turns follow the same draw, then swap or discard pattern as six-card golf. The round closes when one player has all nine cards face up, and everyone else gets a last turn.

Matching is where versions differ. In the most common rule, a full column of three cards of the same rank scores zero, while a pair in a column counts as normal. Some groups also cancel three of a kind across a row, and others cancel any pair in a column. Card values otherwise match six-card golf. Choose 9-card golf on the scorecard and enter each hole total directly.

Tips for 2 players and big groups

Two players. One deck is plenty, and each hole goes quickly. With only two of you the same few cards keep passing through the discard pile, so watch what your opponent picks up and what they let go. If the stock does run out, shuffle the discards (all but the top card) into a new stock.

Big groups. From five players, shuffle in a second deck. With more hands dealt, fewer cards are left in the stock, so reshuffles come sooner. The scorecard tracks up to six players. For a shorter night set fewer holes, or choose 18 holes when you want a longer game.

Mini golf strokes and par

Heading out to a putt-putt course instead? Switch to the Mini golf tab. Add up to six players, type each player's strokes for the hole, and choose the hole's par if the course lists one. The totals show each player's strokes and their score against par, where E means even and +2 means two over. It is set to 18 holes by default, it prints as a mini golf scorecard with a par column, and the fewest strokes wins.