Golf Solitaire Strategy: Clear the Table and Lower Your Score
How to win more Golf solitaire games: plan each chain, clear the tall columns first, handle Kings and Aces, and save stock cards for a better score.
Sunroom Games · Updated
Golf is a game of planning. All 35 cards on the table are face up, so nothing is hidden: if you lose, there was usually a better order somewhere. That makes it one of the most satisfying solitaire games to get good at — and like the sport it's named after, there's always a better score to aim for.
If you'd like the rules first, see how to play Golf.
How chains work
You play the bottom card of any column onto the waste pile if it's one higher or one lower, in any suit. A chain can go up and down as it likes:
In the classic game, Kings and Aces don't go on each other. A King can only be followed by a Queen, and an Ace only by a 2.
1. Plan the chain before you play it
Because every card is visible, you can work out a whole chain before you touch a card. Follow each possibility a few steps: which bottom cards fit, and what does each one uncover? The card underneath matters as much as the card you play, because it's the next one available in that column.
2. Longest isn't always best
A long chain feels good, but look at what it leaves behind. If the longest chain empties easy columns and leaves the tall ones untouched, a slightly shorter chain that digs into a tall column may serve you better later.
3. Work on the tall columns
Every column must be cleared from the bottom up, one card at a time. A column of five needs five separate plays, so a tall column left until the end is one of the most common ways to lose. When you have the choice, play from the column with the most cards in it.
4. Watch out for Kings and Aces
In the classic rules, a King on the waste pile is a dead end unless a Queen is ready to follow it — and an Ace is a dead end without a 2. Before you play a King or an Ace, check what can come next. If nothing can, it may be better to play something else first, or to save the King for the end of a chain just before you turn a stock card.
5. Count the cards each rank needs
Every card needs a neighbor: a 7 can only be played on a 6 or an 8. There are four of each rank, so keep half an eye on what's been used. When most of the 6s and 8s are gone, the remaining 7s become hard to place — so play a 7 while you still can.
6. Treat the stock as your savings
The stock holds 16 cards and you go through it once. Every card left in it when you clear the table comes off your score, so turning a card is like spending a stroke. Before you turn one, check every column's bottom card one more time — it's easy to miss a play.
7. Use Undo and the hint to learn
Undo is unlimited, so you can try a chain, see where it leads and step back. The hints are worth studying, too: follow them from the start of any game we deal and they'll take you all the way to a clear table. If you've gone your own way, the hint works out a path when it can — and tells you honestly if the table can't be cleared any more, so you know it's time to undo.
Keeping score
If the game ends with cards on the table, your score is how many are left. If you clear the table, you score minus the cards still in the stock — clear it with three to spare and you've scored −3. For a longer game, play nine deals as a "round" and add up your scores, then try to beat it next time.
Can every game be won?
Not every deal of Golf can. In our own tests, about half of all deals can't be cleared by the classic rules, even with perfect play. Every new and daily game on Sunroom Games comes from a list of deals we've checked can be won, so there's always a way to clear the table.