Golf is a popular card game enjoyed by players of all ages and skill levels. It is easy to learn, yet offers just the right balance of strategy and luck. In this article, we will discuss the rules and strategies for playing Golf, so you can start enjoying this fun pastime with friends and family.

### What You’ll Need

– A standard deck of 52 playing cards (without jokers)

– 2 to 4 players

– Pen and paper for keeping score

### The Objective

The goal of Golf is to have the lowest score after a predetermined number of rounds. Players accomplish this by forming the best combination of cards in their hands.

### Set-up

1. Select a dealer and shuffle the deck.
2. Deal six face-down cards to each player, arranged in a 3×2 grid.
3. Place the remaining cards face-down in the center as the draw pile.
4. Flip the top card of the draw pile face-up to form the discard pile.

### The Play

Going clockwise from the dealer, players take turns completing one action per turn:

1. Draw: Either take a card from the draw pile or pick up the top card of the discard pile.
2. Replace: Swap out one card from your hand with your drawn card, placing it face down in your grid or discard it.
3. Reveal: At any point during your turn, you may decide to flip over one of your facedown cards.

Keep in mind that once a card has been flipped over, it cannot be replaced or moved.

### Ending Your Turn & Knocking

Players must end their turn by discarding onto the discard pile. If you believe you have fewer points than others on the table, announce “Knock” after discarding. Every remaining player gets one last turn before revealing their cards for scoring.

### Scoring

After a round has ended, players tally their scores:

– 2-10: Face value of the card (e.g., 7 is worth 7 points)

– Jack, Queen: 10 points each

– King: 0 points

– Ace: 1 point

For bonus scoring, you may consider these variations:

– Pair: Two adjacent cards with the same number can cancel each other out, resulting in a score of zero for those cards.

– Column bonus: If all three cards in a vertical column are matching (numeric or face cards), the entire column is worth zero.

### Winning

After playing the predetermined number of rounds, tally the scores. The player who has the lowest total score wins the game.

Golf is an engaging and entertaining card game that encourages strategic thinking and friendly competition. Now that you know how to play Golf, grab a deck of cards and gather your friends for an enjoyable gaming session!