How to keep score in Golf (the card game)

In Golf, you want the lowest score. At the end of each hand, you add up the cards in your layout: aces are 1, twos are −2, kings are 0, and a pair in the same column cancels out to 0. After nine hands, called holes, the lowest total wins.

At a glance

• Players: 2 to 4 with one deck, more with two

• Who wins: Lowest total after 9 holes

• Each hand: Six cards in two rows of three

• Pairs: Two of a kind in a column score 0

What each card is worth

These are the values for six-card Golf. When a hand ends, turn every card face up and add up your layout.

A pair cancels even when it's a pair of twos, so two 2s in a column score 0, not −4. Only pairs in the same column count, not side by side in a row.

How to count a layout

Your six cards sit in three columns of two. Count each column, then add the three together. Here's Cleo's layout at the end of a hand:

• Column 1: two kings, a pair, so 0

• Column 2: a 2 and an ace, so −2 + 1 = −1

• Column 3: two 5s, a pair, so 0

Cleo scores −1 for the hole. A minus score is as good as it gets, since the lowest total wins.

How a hand ends

The hand ends when one player has turned all six of their cards face up. At some tables everyone else gets one more turn first, so agree before you deal.

Then everyone turns up any cards still face down and counts their layout. Write each player's score for the hole and keep a running total.

Four-card and nine-card Golf

• Four-card Golf: four cards in a square, and you may look at the two nearest you once. Instead of turning everything up, you knock, and everyone else gets one more turn. Twos count 2 in this version, kings are still 0, and pairs only cancel at tables that play it that way. Nine holes, lowest total wins.

• Nine-card Golf: nine cards in a square of three by three, played with two or more decks. A column needs three of a kind to score 0, not a pair.

House rules that change the score

• Jokers: some tables add jokers as a minus card, such as −2 or −5. Twos may then count 2 instead of −2.

• Four of a kind: two matching pairs in side-by-side columns score −10 at some tables.

• Ending penalty: some tables add 10 to the player who ended the hand if they don't have the lowest score for it.

• 18 holes: play 18 hands for a longer game.

A scoring example

Four players, the first three holes of nine. Cleo's −1 on hole 1 is the layout above.

Cleo leads with 16, the lowest total, even after a bad second hole. Six holes to go.

Keep score in Tallynight

Golf isn't one of Tallynight's built-in games yet, but it takes a minute to set up. Choose Something else, then Rounds, with the lowest score winning. Leave the target off, and after the ninth hole, tap End game.

Add it to your favourites and it's ready next time, with your table's house rules.

• Type everyone's score for the hole on one keypad, with a minus key for twos

• The table keeps the totals, with the lowest in front

• Tap any hole to fix it

• A winner card for the family chat at the end

• Get Tallynight on the App Store: free, no ads.

• Print a Golf (card game) score sheet if you'd rather keep score on paper.

Questions

How much is a king worth in the Golf card game?

0 points. Only twos are better, at −2 each.

What is a 2 worth in Golf?

−2, so it takes 2 off your score. A pair of 2s in the same column scores 0, though, like any other pair.

Do pairs cancel out in Golf?

Yes, two cards of the same rank in the same column score 0. A pair side by side in a row doesn't count, unless your table plays it that way.

How many holes are in the Golf card game?

Nine. Each hand is a hole, and the lowest total after nine wins. Play 18 for a longer game.

How do jokers score in Golf?

They're not in the standard game. Tables that add them count each joker as a minus score, such as −2 or −5.

What happens when someone turns over all their cards in Golf?

The hand ends. At some tables everyone else gets one more turn first. Then everyone turns their cards up and counts.

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