Histoire
Golf is an old patience game for one player. David Parlett's Card Games for One (1994) also records it as One Foundation, a plain description of the game: every card you play goes onto a single pile.
The name Golf comes from the scoring. As with strokes on a golf course, you count what is left over, the cards still in the columns, and the lowest score wins. Some card-game books carry the idea further and score a full round as nine deals, or holes, added together.
The same up-or-down play is used by several relatives on other layouts, among them Tri Peaks and Pyramid Golf, where the cards are dealt as overlapping pyramids instead of straight columns.
À travers le monde
- One Foundation
- Golf Patience
Stratégie
Golf rewards looking ahead. Every column card is visible from the start, so most of the deal can be planned before you play a single card.
Read the Second Card
The free card matters less than the card behind it. Before you play, check what each play uncovers and whether that card can continue the run.
Choose the Longest Run
When several cards fit, count how far each choice can take you. A play that leads to a run of six is worth more than one that ends after two.
Handle Kings with Care
In the standard rules a king on the waste ends your run and costs a stock card. Play a king when nothing better is left, ideally when it also uncovers a useful card.
Save the Stock
The stock is your only way out of a dead end, and you have just 16 turns. Never turn a stock card while a free card still fits, unless you have counted that the play leads nowhere.
Dig Out the Deep Columns
Columns with many cards left, or with kings and aces buried in them, are the hardest to finish. Clear them while the runs flow, and leave short, easy columns for later.
Count the Ranks
There are four cards of each rank. If three 7s are already on the waste, a buried 8 can follow only the last 7 or a 9, so plan your path to it early.
Variantes
Golf has a few well-known rule changes, and its up-or-down play is shared by a family of related games.
Queen on a King
A queen may be played on a king, so kings no longer end a run. This makes deals noticeably easier and is offered here as a setup option.
Wraparound
Kings and aces are neighbours both ways: a queen or an ace may go on a king, and a king or a 2 on an ace. Runs can turn the corner, and this is offered here as a setup option too.
Nine Holes
Play nine deals and add up the scores, like a round on a golf course. The lowest total wins, and a cleared deal with stock left gives a score below zero.
Tri Peaks
The cards start as three overlapping pyramids, with some cards face down until they are uncovered. Play is the same one-up-or-down onto a waste pile.
Pyramid Golf
The 28-card pyramid of Pyramid Solitaire is laid out, but cards are cleared Golf-style onto the waste instead of in pairs that make 13.
Questions fréquentes
No. A card fits on the waste if it is one rank above or below the waste card, whatever its suit or colour.