Learn to Play

Six Card Golf

Try to earn the lowest number of points over the course of nine deals (or "holes”).
Game Type
Other
Age
8+
Players
2, 3, 4

The Pack

Standard 52 card deck

The Deal

Each player is dealt 6 cards face down from the deck. The remainder of the cards are placed face down, and the top card is turned up to start the discard pile beside it. Players arrange their 6 cards in 2 rows of 3 in front of them and turn 2 of these cards face up. The remaining cards stay face down and cannot be looked at.

The Play

The object is for players to have the lowest value of the cards in front of them by either swapping them for lesser value cards or by pairing them up with cards of equal rank.

Beginning with the player to the dealer's left, players take turns drawing single cards from either the stock or discard piles. The drawn card may either be swapped for one of that player's 6 cards, or discarded. If the card is swapped for one of the face down cards, the card swapped in remains face up. The round ends when all of a player's cards are face-up.

A game is nine "holes" (deals), and the player with the lowest total score is the winner.

Scoring

Each ace counts 1 point. Each 2 counts minus 2 points. Each numeral card from 3 to 10 scores face value. Each jack or queen scores 10 points. Each king scores zero points. A pair of equal cards in the same column scores zero points for the column (even if the equal cards are 2s).