From a standard 52-card deck, 7 columns of 5 cards each are dealt, all face up. This is the tableau. One additional card is dealt as the base of the foundation. The remaining 16 cards are turned face down to form the stock.
Play
Rules are as follows:
Only the topmost card in each column may be removed from the tableau. When it is removed, the card beneath becomes available for play.
Cards may be moved from the tableau to the foundation if they are either one rank higher or one rank lower than the top card of the foundation, regardless of suit, but nothing may be played on top of a King.
Cards rank A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K. There is no "wrapping" in the strict form of Golf.
Whenever there are no possible plays, turn cards up one at a time from the stock to the foundation and resume playing cards from the tableau when possible.
There is no redeal. The game is over when the stock is exhausted and no more moves are available.
Scoring
Player scores one point for each card remaining in the tableau after the stock has run out. If the tableau is cleared, player scores a negative point for every card left in the stock. Game is nine "holes" and a score of 45 or lower is considered par, with a score of zero or lower being perfect.
Impossible tableaux
If a tableau is dealt that would make it impossible for the player to clear all of the cards, then the cards may be reshuffled and redealt.
Variations
To make the game easier, common variations on these rules include:
Turning the corner is permitted so that a King can be played on top of an Ace, and vice versa.
One or both of the Jokers may be added to the deck and used as wild cards that represent any value.
The foundation pile can start off empty, so players can choose one of the exposed cards to move them to the foundation for a "head-start".
Many variants exist which utilize the same style of game-play as Golf, but adjust the starting layout. The most well-known ones including Tri Peaks, Black Hole, and Pyramid Golf. Multiple decks may also be used to create larger tableaus. Spit is a real-time game for two players which employs a similar concept of game-play as Golf.
