How to Play Six-Card Golf
Golf is the card game where low is good: like the sport, you want the fewest strokes over nine holes. Six-Card Golf is the most popular version for two.
Setup
- Each player gets six cards face down, in two rows of three. The next card starts the discard pile; the rest is the stock.
- Each player turns up two cards to start.
Your turn
- Draw the top card of the stock, or take the top of the discard pile.
- Then either swap it for any one of your six cards (face up or down; the replaced card goes to the discard, face up), or, if you drew from the stock, discard it and turn one of your face-down cards up. A taken discard must be swapped in.
Scoring
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace | 1 |
| Two | −2 |
| 3 to 10 | face value |
| Jack, queen | 10 |
| King | 0 |
A column whose two cards match in rank scores 0 for both.
The hole and the game
When a player has all six cards face up, the other player takes one last turn; then everything is turned up and the hole is scored. Nine holes; lowest total wins.
Playing on kawu
Tap the stock or the discard, then tap one of your cards to swap, or use the flip buttons to turn a card up. Hint shows the hard computer's play.
Then read the Six-Card Golf strategy.
Frequently asked questions
Can I look at my face-down cards?
No. You know only the two turned up at the start and whatever you turn up or swap in later. Swapping a drawn card for a face-down card reveals the old card as it goes to the discard.
What happens when someone turns up their last card?
The other player gets exactly one more turn, then all cards are turned up and the hole is scored. Closing early is risky if your hidden cards are bad.
Do three matching cards do anything?
Not in six-card golf: only the two cards of a column cancel. Two matching columns cancel separately.
Last updated 2026-10-21