Golf Solitaire

Clear all 35 cards from the seven columns onto the waste pile. Your score is the number of cards still in the columns when the deal ends, so lower is better. You win as soon as all 35 column cards are on the waste, even with cards still in the stock. The deal ends when the stock is empty and no free card fits the waste; the game then tells you that no moves are left. Score one point for each card left in the columns, or, after a full clear, minus one point for each card left in the stock. The lowest score is best.

Shuffle one pack of 52 cards and deal seven columns of five cards each, all face up and overlapping so every card can be seen. Only the uncovered card at the end of each column is free. The other 17 cards form the stock, face down; turn its top card face up to start the waste pile, leaving 16 cards in the stock.

Look past the free card: the card behind it decides where your run can go next. When several cards fit, prefer the one that keeps the run going longest, not simply the first one you see. Play kings late. In the standard rules a king on the waste ends your run and costs you a stock card.

Queen on a king: a queen may be played on a king, so a king no longer ends a run. Offered here as a setup option. Wraparound: kings and aces are neighbours both ways, so a queen or an ace may go on a king and a king or a 2 on an ace. Offered here as a setup option. Nine holes: a round of nine deals with the scores added together, as on a golf course. The lowest total wins. Related games: Tri Peaks and Pyramid Golf use the same up-or-down play on layouts built as pyramids.

Golf is an old patience game. David Parlett's Card Games for One (1994) also records it as One Foundation, a name that describes its single pile. The name Golf comes from the scoring: as with strokes on a golf course, the fewer cards left at the end, the better, and some card-game books score a full round as nine deals, or holes.