GOLF CARD GAME RULES

OBJECTIVE OF GOLF THE CARD GAME: Score the lowest number of points.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2+ players

MATERIALS OF GOLF THE CARD GAME: 1 to 3 decks, depending on variation and number of players.

TYPE OF GAME: Card game

AUDIENCE: All ages

OVERVIEW OF GOLF THE CARD GAME

Golf the card game is a widespread game but seldom documented in card-playing books. This is a consequence of the many names the game bears, it is also known as Polish Polka or Polish Poker, and the 4-card version is sometimes referred to as Turtle. The 6-card variation of Golf is also known as Hara Kiri and the 9-card game is often called Crazy Nines. I know… pretty confusing, right? Well, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered!

Today, you will learn how to play and the Golf card game rules for all variant card games. Ready to learn? Let’s get into it!

HOW TO PLAY GOLF THE CARD GAME: GOLF THE CARD GAME RULES

Golf the card game rules differ according to what type of game you play. There are many variations of golf the card game, so we will go in-depth and learn how to play each of them. We’ll cover the rules for Four Card Golf, Six Card Golf, Eight Card Golf, Nine Card Golf and Ten Card Golf!

If playing alone, there is also a solitaire version of golf for a single player.

FOUR CARD GOLF

This is the most commonly played form of the card game Golf. The game uses a standard 52-card deck for 2 to 8 players. It’s worth noting that this game is best played with 4 players. If there are more than 8 players who wish to play, you can combine two decks.

DEALING

Both the deal and the play pass clockwise. The dealer will hand each player 4 cards, one card at a time. Place these cards face-down in the shape of a square.

All the remaining cards then form a draw pile in the center of the table. Make sure to keep the draw pile face-down as well. Then, draw the top card and turn it face up next to the draw pile to create the discard pile.

Before you begin to play, players can secretly look at the two cards nearest to them in their square layout. Players cannot look at the cards in their layout again unless they are discarding them during play or scoring them at the end of the game.

PLAYING

The player left of the dealer starts and play passes on clockwise. A turn offers players three options:

OPTION 1: DRAWING A CARD FROM THE DRAW PILE

Players may draw a card from the draw pile. You may use this card to replace any of the four cards in your layout, but you cannot look at the face of the card you are replacing. You can either replace one of the two cards you know already (from looking at them at the beginning of the game) or one of the two cards you don’t know at all.

Once you switch out the cards, try and remember which card is the replacement. Move the card you choose to replace in your square layout to the discard pile of face-up cards visible for everyone to see.

OPTION 2: DRAWING A CARD FROM THE DISCARD PILE

Players may draw a card from the discard pile. Since these cards are face-up, if you want the card, you can take it from the discard pile and exchange it with one of the cards in your layout. You must discard the card you are exchanging it with and place it on top of the discard pile.

OPTION 3: KNOCKING

Players can also choose to knock. After you knock, your turn is over. In other words, you keep your layout as is. You will generally knock when you are happy with your layout and don’t feel the need to exchange any of the cards in your layout. When you knock, play moves on in a normal fashion for one more round. Other players may draw or discard one last time, but they cannot knock. After this last round, the game ends.

Keep in mind that if you take a peek at your cards in your face-down layout at any point in the game (aside from the very beginning), you must discard the card you look at and replace it with the card you draw.

SCORING

After a player knocks and every other player gets one more turn to improve their layout, scoring begins. All players’ cards are flipped face-up for scoring.

Here is how to score for Four Card Golf:

• Number cards are equal to their face value. For example, Ace = 1 and Five = 5
• Jack and Queen = 10 points each
• King = 0 points each

Play 8 more rounds for a total of 9 plays.

The player with the lowest total score, much like normal golf, summed after 9 plays, is the winner!

VARIATIONS OF FOUR CARD GOLF RULES

There are many variations of four card golf rules that you can implement to make a more interesting game as you get used to the normal golf card game rules.

Here are some variations you should keep in mind:

• At the beginning of the game, you can choose any two cards to look at; not just the two cards closest to you.
• You can look at any of your 4 cards throughout the game, but every time you do, you get a penalty of 1 point.
• Similar to Six Card Golf (as you’ll see below), any time a card is replaced, that new card is placed face-up in your layout so that all players can see the new card. Play ends when all of a player’s cards are face-up, at which point the remaining players get one more turn to improve their layout.
• If you have two cards of the same value (for example: two 4s), the two cards cancel each other out for a score of 0. So, in this example, instead of scoring 8 for those two cards, you would score 0!
• If you play with the 2 jokers in the deck, they are each worth -5 points!
• If the knocker turns out not to have the lowest score amongst the players, they get a penalty of 10 points!
• You can play for 18 plays instead of 9.

FOUR CARD GOLF WITH POWER CARDS – VARIATION OF FOUR CARD GOLF RULES

Now, if you really want to spice things up, you can play a variation of Four Card Golf but with magic cards. In other words, many of the cards played have powers associated with them. This variation of Four Card Golf is known by many other names, including Cambio, Cabo, or Pablo.

PLAYING CAMBIO

The basic rules are the same. You begin with four cards placed in a square face-down in front of each player. Each player then looks at their bottom two cards to start the game. Each player takes their turn one by one in the same manner as in normal Four Card Golf.

POWER CARDS

However, some cards have a special power associated with them. If you draw a card from the draw pile (not the discard pile), you can either exchange this card for one of your own cards OR discard the card and use its power.

Here are the power cards in Four Card Golf, or Cambio:

• 7 and 8: Look at one of your cards without a penalty
• 9 and 10: Look at one of your opponents’ cards
• Jack: Blind swap any two cards belonging to players (including your own if you wish!)
• Queen: Look at any two cards belonging to any player (including your own if you wish!) and swap them. Keep in mind that you have to swap once you look!

CARD POINT VALUES

While the card point values are generally the same as in normal Four Card Golf, there are some differences:

• Black King: Worth 12 points! So, you definitely don’t want this card in your layout.
• Red King: Worth -1 points!
• Joker: Worth -2 points!

MATCHING CARDS

In this variation, if there is a card in the discard pile that is the same value as one of your cards or your opponents’ cards (you may know this thanks to the power cards), you can take the matching card from the layout and slap it on top of the card on top of the discard pile.

When this happens, one of two things occur:

1. If you slapped down one of your own cards, you have one less card to play with, giving you an advantage.
2. If you slapped down one of your opponents’ cards, you may then give that opponent one of your own cards as a penalty.

SAYING CAMBIO

In the Cambio variation of Four Card Golf, instead of knocking on the table, the player who believes they have the best layout (the lowest score) says, “Cambio.” As in normal Four Card Golf, all remaining players get one more turn to improve their layout before the game ends and scores are recorded.

SIX CARD GOLF

In Six Card Golf, pairs in a column score 0 points. Therefore, the main goal of Six Card Golf is to make as many pairs as possible.

DEALING

In a game with 2 to 4 players, a standard 52-card deck will suffice. Games with 4 to 8 players use two packs, and games with more than 8 use three. As always, both the deal and the play move clockwise. Dealers deal 6 cards to each player, one at a time, to form a rectangular layout – 2 columns and 3 rows.

The remaining cards form the draw pile in the middle of the table. Flip over the top card of the draw pile and place it beside the draw pile to create the discard pile. Before the play begins, players may flip any two cards in their layout face-up. Players cannot look at any of the other cards unless they are discarding the cards or turning them over during the course of the game.

PLAYING

The player left of the dealer starts and then play continues on clockwise. During your turn, you may either draw from the draw or discard piles. Then, this card you draw can be used to replace any of the 6 cards you have in your layout. However, if you choose to replace a face-down card, it’s a gamble, as you may not look at it before doing so. Place the new card face-up in your layout and the old card face-up on top of the discard pile. This marks the end of your turn.

Keepi mind that if you draw a card from the face-down pile, you may discard it without replacing it with one of your own cards. On the other hand, cards from the discard pile must be used to replace a card in your layout.

Play ends when all players’ cards are face-up. And now that the game is over, scoring begins!

SCORING

Scoring occurs at the end of each play. All player’s cards are flipped face-up for scoring. Score the cards accordingly:

• Ace = 1 point
• Two = -2 points
• Number cards 3 to 10 = face value
• Jack and Queen = 10 points
• King = 0 points
• Equal cards in the same column scores = 0 points (yep, that includes twos, so be careful!)

The player with the lowest total score, summed after nine plays, is the winner.

VARIATIONS OF SIX CARD GOLF RULES

Just as with Four Card Golf, there are many variations of Six Card Golf rules. Here are some variations to keep in mind if you want to spice up the game:

• If you use jokers, they are worth -2 points and the twos are worth their face value at 2 points each.
• When turning over the first two cards at the beginning of the game, the two cards must be in the same column.
• When turning over the first two cards at the beginning of the game, the two cards must be in a different column.
• No cards are turned over in the beginning of the game; instead, players may privately look at the three cards closest to them.
• At your turn, instead of drawing a card, you may simply turn over one of your face-down cards.
• Win a prize of -10 points for four cards of the same value in two columns. If you use two or more decks, a prize of -20 points for all six cards of the same value.
• -20 points for four cards of the same value in two columns next to each other.
• The two equal cards of the same value do not have to be in the same column.
• You can play for 18 plays instead of 9.

EIGHT CARD GOLF

Eight Card Golf is played almost identically to Six Card Golf. However, the layout is 4 columns of 2 cards as opposed to 3. One deck is used in games with 2 to 4 players, and more decks may be added as needed.

DEALING

After shuffling, the dealer deals each player (starting to their left) eight cards, one at a time, in a rectangular layout (4×2). The remaining cards form the draw pile. Then, the top card is flipped over and placed beside the draw pile to form the discard pile. The player to the left of the dealer then starts and play passes on clockwise.

PLAYING

Players begin their first turn by turning two cards in one column face-up. Players then may draw cards from the draw or discard piles, giving them three options:

1. Use the drawn card to replace a face-up card. Discard the face-up card, face-up, in the discard pile.
2. Use the drawn card to replace a face-down card. You cannot look at the card you wish to replace beforehand. This is a blind swap. After it is replaced, discard your previous card face-up in the discard pile.
3. If the drawn card was from the draw pile and you don’t want it in your layout, discard it face-up on top of the discard pile. Flip over one of your own face-down cards in your layout.

After every player has their first turn, play continues in the same direction with players drawing from the draw or discard piles.

If your layout has one face-down card remaining, you have the option to draw a card from the draw pile and discard it without turning over your last card. Why would you do that? Well, when a player flips over their last face-down card so that all their cards are face-up, only one turn remains. All remaining players get one last turn to improve their layout. After the last turn, turn over everybody’s face-down cards to score.

SCORING

• Joker = -5 points
• King = 0 points
• Jack and Queen = 10 points
• Ace = 1 point
• Number cards 2 to 10 = Face value
• Pair in a column = 0 points
• 2 pairs in 2 columns = -10 points

As you can see, it’s totally possible to have a negative score. The player with the lowest total score, summed after nine plays, wins!

VARIATION OF EIGHT CARD GOLF RULES

If you want to change things up a bit, there’s a variation of Eight Card Golf you can play by implementing the below game rules:

• Players can turn over any two cards (they don’t have to be in the same column) at the beginning of their first turn.
• Once both cards in a single column are face-up, you cannot exchange those cards.

NINE CARD GOLF

Nine Card Golf is better known as Crazy Nines or Nines. This variant is played with at least 2 standard decks. The layout is nine cards in a 3×3 square. Three cards are turned face-up to start the game. The same rules as Six Card Golf apply with one exception: pairs do not score zero points. Instead, you must have three matching cards in a column score zero points!

VARIATIONS OF NINE CARD GOLF RULES

Here are some game rule variations of Nine Card Golf to keep things interesting and fresh:

• Turn over only two cards at the beginning of the game.
• Twos scores 2 points and jokers score -2 points each.
• A vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line of three equal cards equal 0 points.
• Four cards of equal value in a square is worth -25 points.

TEN CARD GOLF

To play Ten Card Golf, you need at least two standard card decks. Players are dealt 5 cards in the same fashion as other versions of Golf, but in a 5×2 rectangular layout. Any two cards may be flipped over face-up. From then on, normal Six Card Golf card game rules apply.

Love this game? Then try out Taki!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How Many Decks of Cards Are Used for Golf?

One to three decks are used depending on which version of the game and how many players will be participating.

How Are Jokers Used in Golf?

Jokers are only used in certain variations. They tend to be worth negative points, generally -2 points.

Is It Possible to Play Golf with 2 Players?

Yes, definitely! All the included golf variations above allow for 2-player games.

How Do You Win a Game of Golf the Card Game?

The goal of Golf is to have the lowest score at the end of a predetermined number of rounds, generally 9 or 18.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Mia Kim

I am a digital nomad and traveler with a passion for board games. I've been a big board game nerd all my life, and I'm a particular fan of word games like Scrabble, Boggle, and, yes, Wordle, too!

Latest posts by Mia Kim (see all)

• 15 Word Games for Seniors for Mental Agility - May 6, 2025
• 15 Best Board Games for 6 Year Olds - April 29, 2025
• 40 Indoor Games for Adults: Board Games, Card Games, and Drinking Games - April 8, 2025