Golf Solitaire Strategy: Look One Card Ahead

Read the waste and the seven column ends

Start your Golf Solitaire strategy by finding both ranks that can follow the top waste card. The ProjectGAMR rules checked on November 11, 2026 let a waste 7 take a 6 or an 8 from the exposed end of a column. The card you play becomes the new waste top.

The board starts with seven columns of five cards. You can see the ranks in each column and play only the exposed card at its end. Suits have no effect on eligibility. After every move, look again at the waste and the column you just shortened.

Compare what a 6 and an 8 expose

In one checked deal, a 7 starts on the waste. One column ends in 6 with 5 directly above it. Another ends in 8 with a Jack directly above it. Each opening move takes one card away and makes one new card accessible.

Playing the 6 makes that new 5 eligible immediately. The 5 in turn exposes a 4 in the same column. Follow the sequence 7–6–5–4 and you remove three cards from the board while all sixteen stock cards stay available.

Recheck the available ranks after the 8

Consider the same initial layout with the 8 played first. You expose the Jack, which sits three ranks away from the new waste card. The column ends after that move are 6, Jack, 2, 3, 4, King and Ace.

An 8 can take a 7 or a 9. With neither rank exposed, you need a stock draw to continue this branch. The first draw in this deal turns up a 9. The immediate difference between the two openings comes from which rank becomes playable next.

Use Ace–King wrapping at the ends of the ranks

Ace–King wrapping connects those ranks in both directions. A King on the waste accepts an exposed Queen or Ace. An Ace on the waste accepts an exposed King or 2. BVS Solitaire Collection documents the same wrap in its Golf rules.

In a separate checked deal, an exposed Ace plays onto a King and reveals a 2. You can play that 2 next or use an exposed King in another column. A second Ace above a Queen stays covered until that Queen is removed.

Treat stock draws as changes to the waste

Draw from stock turns one card onto the waste and replaces the rank you were building on. You get one stock pass. Before drawing, check each column end for either neighbor of the current waste, including the wrap when applicable.

After the last draw, keep playing any legal moves from the columns. In the test, the stock's last card was a Jack. After the 6–5–4 sequence, it still accepted the exposed Queen. After the 8 opening, it ended the deal with 34 cards left because no exposed card could follow it.

Make the comparison before clicking

When two exposed cards fit, picture each one as the next waste top. Compare its two adjacent ranks with the card it would uncover and with the unchanged ends of the other columns.

If one play gives you a continuation, trace it for another step. A short chain clears a few known cards and keeps the stock available for later. On a fresh deal, repeat the comparison with the ranks you can actually see.

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