Golf is a two-deck card game that is easy to learn and fun to play.
Deck: 2 decks of regular playing cards, 4 to 7 players. (Use 1 deck for 2 or 3 players; use 3 decks for 8+ players.)
Rank of cards: Jack = -2; Queen = 12; King = 0; Ace = 1; all other cards are face value.
Object of the game: to get the lowest scoring hand in 9 rounds.
Number of players: 2 and up
Play:
1. 6 cards are dealt face down to each player; players may not look at their
cards. Players arrange cards in a column of three pairs.
2. Remaining cards are placed in the middle of the table and the top card is
placed face up beside the deck — this will be the discard pile.
3. The first player starts play by drawing from either the discard pile or from the top of the deck.
4.a. If the player draws from the top of the deck, the card is turned over. The
player can choose to use the drawn card to replace a card from his hand or
discard it.
i. If the card is discarded then one card from the player’s hand must
be turned face up.
ii. If the player chooses to keep the drawn card then it replaces one from the player’s hand. The drawn card can replace either a face up or face down card in the player's hand. The discarded card is placed
face up on the discard pile.
The exception to point i above is if the player has only one face-down
card remaining. It is then an option for the player whether or not to turn
over their last card. See points 6 and 7 below.
4.b. If the player draws from the discard pile, then one card from the player’s hand must
be swapped for that card and placed in the discard pile. If the card to be swapped is face down then it is turned face up and then placed on the discard pile.
5. If a player has a matched pair of cards (side by side pairs), on the next play
the pair (or pairs) can be discarded, provided a card has not been drawn from the deck or the discard pile. The player then proceeds to play the turn as usual (steps 3 & 4 above).
6. If the player's last face down cards is turned up, that player is finished and the remaining players have one more turn each. All cards are then turned face up and the points are tallied.
7. If the player who first turned all cards face up does not have a lower score
than all other players then 10 points are added to that player’s score.
8. If all cards are played from the deck, play ceases. All cards are turned face up
and the scores are tallied.
9. Nine hands are played and the lowest cumulative score wins.
