Plan the next exposed rank before spending a stock card.
Golf and Putt Putt share seven face-up columns and a single removal pile. Each tableau top may follow the pile's rank by one step, regardless of suit. The choice between two legal cards depends on what each removal exposes and whether the new rank keeps a run alive.
Last updated: September 2026
Read the column below the move
Only the top card of each five-card column is playable. When two tops fit the current rank, compare the card each would expose. A playable next card can extend your run without a stock draw. Look across all seven columns too: the next step can come from any column.
Suppose the removal pile shows 7 and two columns expose an 8. One 8 covers a 9, while the other covers a 3. If no other 7 or 9 is exposed, taking the first 8 opens the legal 9 next. Taking the second leaves 3 on top and may end the run. This is a local choice, not a promise that the first line wins the deal.
Spend draws when they change your options
The deal uses 35 tableau cards and 17 other cards. One of those starts the removal pile, leaving 16 in stock. A stock draw replaces the active rank and cannot be recycled. You may draw even when a tableau play exists, so compare the visible continuations before spending that option.
Clearing all seven columns wins even with stock left. A stock draw can be useful if every available play ends at an awkward rank, but the next stock card is unknown. Avoid treating a draw as guaranteed to rescue a specific column.
Strict Golf: a King ends the run
In this site's strict Golf, a King can be played on a Queen, but nothing can be played on a King. An Ace cannot follow it, and even a Queen cannot follow it. A stock draw is the only way to change the active rank afterward. Before taking an exposed King, check the remaining stock and the cards the King uncovers.
Putt Putt: turn through Ace and King
Putt Putt uses the same deal and 16-card starting stock, but allows King on Ace and Ace on King. Queen still cannot follow a King in this implementation. A Q → K → A → 2 line is possible if those cards become exposed in that order.
If the removal pile shows a Queen and a King is playable, inspect exposed Aces before choosing the King. An Ace can continue the run; without one, the King still forces a stock draw. This single rule change makes high-rank cards potential connectors rather than unavoidable stopping points.
Related rank-removal games
Black Hole has no stock and needs one continuous path through all visible fans. Tri Peaks hides upper cards under a shared base. Pyramid Golf shows its whole covered pyramid. Their access rules change which legal card is worth taking.