Golf rules and strategy
A quick solitaire game: 35 face-up cards in 7 columns, a waste pile and a stock. A card can be removed when its rank is one step above or below the waste card. This site explains the exact rules, strategy and games verified card by card. To play: Golf Solitaire, on iPhone, iPad and Android.
Available on the App Store and on Google Play.
Golf at a glance
Golf is played alone with a deck of 52 cards. 35 cards form 7 columns of 5 cards, all face up. One card goes onto the waste; the other 16 form the stock, face down.
In each column, only the last card is available. It can be removed if its rank is immediately above or below the waste card, regardless of suit: on a 6, either a 5 or a 7. It then becomes the new waste card, and play continues in a chain. When no card can follow, draw. You win by clearing the tableau; each card removed earns 10 points, for a total of 350 for a winning game. The rules explain each move in detail, and the strategy explains how to approach the game.
A deal from the app
Here is the deal with code GO1-E-AAAAAAB as dealt by the app. No available card can be played on the A♣ in the waste, so the first move is to draw. Paste this code into the New Game window to play it; a game won in 48 moves is detailed on the Examples page.
Stock: 16 cards; waste: ace of clubs. Column 1: 6 of clubs, 5 of spades, queen of spades, 10 of spades, 6 of hearts (available: 6 of hearts); column 2: 2 of spades, king of clubs, 4 of spades, 2 of clubs, 8 of clubs (available: 8 of clubs); column 3: 10 of clubs, ace of hearts, 2 of diamonds, 5 of diamonds, jack of spades (available: jack of spades); column 4: 3 of diamonds, queen of hearts, ace of spades, king of diamonds, 4 of clubs (available: 4 of clubs); column 5: jack of hearts, 3 of clubs, 7 of diamonds, 8 of hearts, 9 of clubs (available: 9 of clubs); column 6: 10 of hearts, 4 of hearts, 7 of hearts, 7 of clubs, 8 of diamonds (available: 8 of diamonds); column 7: 3 of spades, 7 of spades, 3 of hearts, 9 of spades, 5 of clubs (available: 5 of clubs).
Where to start?
The rules
Each column's available card, the rank above or below, the stock, the King and Ace, the end of the game and scoring.
Strategy
Count before drawing, preserve chains and choose which column to clear.
Verified games
Actual deals from the app with their codes, including a game won in 48 moves, replayed move by move.
Frequently asked questions
Are all deals winnable? Easy or Classic? When should you draw? Short answers.
On phone and tablet
The app is played in portrait orientation. It offers Easy rules by default, or Classic, a code for each game to replay or share a deal, undo for the last 100 actions, statistics and 36 languages.
