Golf Solitaire
Play Golf Solitaire free online by clearing seven columns of face-up cards. Move an uncovered card onto the waste pile when it is one rank higher or lower than the card there. Suits do not matter. Start playing above without an account or download, and use the instructions below whenever you need them. For a choice between two playable cards, compare the worked Golf chain example.
How to play Golf Solitaire
The goal is to remove all 35 cards from the seven columns. Each column starts with five cards. One more card begins the waste pile, and the other 16 form the stock. All column cards are face up, but only the uncovered bottom card of each column is available.
- Look at the top card of the waste pile beside the face-down stock. This is the card you play onto.
- Choose an uncovered card at the bottom of a column. If it is one rank higher or lower, select it to move it onto the waste.
- Use that card as your new starting point. Keep going while another exposed card fits. A King ends the chain: nothing can be played on it.
- When you need a new starting card, select the stock to turn over one card. You have 16 stock cards and one pass through them.
Golf Solitaire rules: one rank up or down
A 7 accepts a 6 or an 8, and a Jack accepts a 10 or a Queen. Matching ranks cannot be played together. This game uses the strict Golf rules: Aces are low, Kings and Aces do not connect, and nothing can be played onto a King. An Ace accepts only a 2; a 2 accepts an Ace or a 3.
A chain can change direction
With a 7 on the waste, you could play a 6, then a 5, then a different 6. Each card must be uncovered when you play it. Colors and suits can change at every step.
A King ends the chain. You can move a King onto a Queen, but you cannot put a Queen or an Ace onto a King. If cards remain in the columns, draw from the stock to continue, or use Undo to revisit your choice.
Golf Solitaire strategy: compare what comes next
Before choosing between two legal cards, look at the card each one would uncover. Taking a 6 from one column might reveal a 5 that continues your run; taking another 6 might uncover a card you cannot use yet. The useful choice depends on the whole layout. A longer immediate chain can help, but it does not prove that the rest of the deal will clear.
Five things to check before drawing
Stock cards are limited. Give the cards already on the board a careful look before turning over the next one.
- Check all seven exposed cards. A playable card can be easy to miss at the other end of the board.
- Look in both directions. From an 8, consider the available 7s and 9s before deciding which way to begin.
- Compare matching choices. If two exposed cards have the same rank, inspect the cards behind them. A taller column is a useful tiebreaker, not an automatic best move.
- Pause before taking a King. It stops the chain, so check whether another card can remove more of the layout first. A King that clears the final column wins immediately.
- Try another order with Undo. If your chosen chain reaches a dead end, return to the point where you had a choice and compare the alternative.
Help when you get stuck
- Undo
- Take back a card or a stock draw to try a different continuation.
- Hint
- Suggest a card to play or a stock draw. A suggestion can help you continue, but it does not promise a win from your current position.
- Restart
- Put the same deal back at its starting layout, so you can try a different order.
- New Game
- Leave this deal and start another verified winnable layout.
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Watch how to play Golf Solitaire
See how the columns, stock and waste work together. The video shows the same strict rules explained above.
Duration: 1 minute 41 seconds.
In this video
Are all Golf Solitaire deals winnable?
The New Game button chooses from a pool of 1,000 starting deals verified winnable by our solver. That means a solution exists at the start, not that every sequence of moves will succeed. For comparison, our July 2026 solver test cleared about 27% of 2,000 randomly shuffled deals under these strict rules. That sample describes possible solutions, not how often people win. You can read the method on our Solitaire win-rate research page.
Golf Solitaire questions
Can I put an Ace on a King?
No. The ranks do not wrap in this game. An Ace can move onto a 2, and a 2 can move onto an Ace. A King moves onto a Queen and then stops further column plays until you draw a new stock card.
Can I go through the stock again?
No. You get one pass through the 16 stock cards. After the last draw, keep playing any column cards that fit. If cards remain in the columns and none can move, you can use Undo or Restart to try a different route.
Can cards move between columns?
No. Cards move from an exposed column position to the waste pile. You cannot rearrange the columns or fill a column after you have emptied it.
Do I need to use every stock card to win?
No. Clearing the seven columns is enough. The game ends in a win as soon as their last card moves to the waste, even if stock cards remain.
Does the suit or color matter?
Neither affects a legal move. For example, a red 6 can go onto a red 7, and a black 6 can do the same. The rank difference and the King rule decide whether a card fits.
How is Golf different from regular Solitaire?
Golf removes cards onto one waste pile instead of building four suit foundations. Its columns cannot be rearranged, and you cannot recycle the stock. If you prefer building sequences and moving them between columns, try Solitaire Draw 1.
Try one short chain
Return to the board and look for two column cards you could play in succession. Before selecting the first, check that the second is already free or will be uncovered by that move. A short sequence is enough to get used to looking ahead.
