Golf solitaire online

How to play golf solitaire

Golf is a one-pile solitaire. The classic deal is seven columns of five cards, all face up. One card starts the pile in the middle, which we call the green, and the other sixteen wait face down in the stock. You clear the columns onto the green one card at a time.

• One higher or one lower. The bottom card of any column can go on the green if it's exactly one rank above or below the top card. On a 7 you can play a 6 or an 8.
• Suits never matter. The 8 of hearts plays on the 7 of clubs.
• Change direction whenever you like. A run like 7, 8, 7, 6, 5 is fine.
• No wrapping. Only a 2 goes on an Ace, and nothing goes on a King.
• The stock. When nothing fits, or whenever you choose, turn the next stock card onto the green. The stock goes through once.

That's all of it. Because every column card is face up from the start, golf rewards looking before you tap. You can see the whole course and plan the longest run through it.

Why it's called golf

The score works like a round of golf: low is good. Every card still on the course when the stock runs out counts as one stroke. Clear the whole course and each stock card you didn't need is a stroke under, up to five.

In Saltwind Links each deal is a hole with a par of 3, 4 or 5, set by a careful computer player that plays the hole without peeking at the stock. Nine holes make a round, and your scorecard uses real golf names.

Every hole can be cleared

Strict golf solitaire from a random shuffle is hard, and careful players clear only a small share of deals. We think that's a poor way to spend a lunch break, so every hole on the Tour, in the Daily Round and in the weekly Cup is built from a known clear and tested. You still have to find the way, since you never see the stock order.

If you want the old-school version, the Practice Range has a true random deal, plus house rules like a Queen on a King or Kings and Aces that connect.

Ways to play

• The Tour: six courses of nine holes, each with its own look and a resident rival. Stars for finishing, for par and for clearing open the next course.
• Daily Round: three holes, the same for everyone that day. Your first try goes on the daily leaderboard.
• Saltwind Cup: a new nine-hole Cup every Monday against all six rivals, with trophies for the top three.
• Practice Range: pick your tees and house rules, with unlimited undo and no stars on the line.

There's a fair Undo for plays since your last draw, one Mulligan per hole that takes back a draw, and a Caddie button that suggests a good play using only what you can see.

Golf solitaire tips

• Trace the longest run before you touch anything. A run that bounces up and down, like 6, 7, 6, 5, often reaches further than a straight one.
• Think about where a run ends. Finish on a rank with plenty of neighbors still unseen in the stock.
• Count the Aces and 2s. An Ace only takes a 2, so don't spend the last 2 while an Ace still waits on the course.
• Uncover Kings early. A King stops a run, and only a Queen on the green can carry it away.
• Dig the tall columns first. Buried cards take the longest to reach.

Our full Saltwind Links guide covers the tees, stars, rivals, keyboard controls and every scoring detail.

If you like golf solitaire

Star Solitaire uses the same one higher or one lower idea on a peaks layout, with face-down cards that flip as you clear and big scores for long streaks. Desert Pyramid is another quick one, where you pair cards that add up to 13. For the longer classics, see our free solitaire games, and if you'd like a solitaire you can race someone at, try our card games for two.

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