Cards for Golfers is an on-course card game that makes any round of golf more fun and strategic. It’s designed for 2-4 players and works with many different playing formats.


You can play most formats where 2-4 players compete INDIVIDUALLY. However, these cards work best with simpler formats, such as Match Play, Skins, Stableford, or similar.


Yes, but ONLY if you play Better Ball/Best Ball (Four-Ball), Stableford, or any other format where each golfer plays their OWN ball and records an INDIVIDUAL score for each hole. These cards are NOT compatible with, for example, Scramble, Shamble, Foursomes, Chapman (Pinehurst), or other shared-ball games.

Once you have decided which format to play, it’s time to shuffle up and deal.


STEP 1: Shuffle ONLY the green HELPFUL CARDS and deal a number of face-down cards to each player. If you play 18 holes, each player receives 6 helpful cards. (For 12 holes: 5 cards. For 9 holes: 4 cards. For 6 holes: 3 cards.)

STEP 2: After dealing the helpful cards, shuffle ONLY the red OBSTACLE CARDS and deal a number of face-down cards to each player. To determine the number of obstacle cards each player receives, use the chart below.


STEP 3: Each player draws a RANDOM player number card. With two players, only use cards 1 and 2. With three players, use cards 1, 2, and 3. With four players, use all cards.

NOTE: When starting a round, EACH player should always have a player number card as well as mix of helpful cards and obstacle cards.

The cards you are dealt are YOURS TO KEEP during the round. Since the cards are made of plastic, they are waterproof and very durable, so you can safely keep the cards in your pocket, bag, or trolley without worrying about damaging them.

IMPORTANT: You may use each of your helpful/obstacle cards ONCE during the round.


To use a helpful card, simply announce to the other players that you are playing a card and then follow the instructions on the card. After you play a card, put it away and don’t mix it with your unused cards.

IMPORTANT: When you play a helpful card, the instructions on that card MUST always be followed BEFORE you can play another helpful card.


While players can use as many helpful cards as they want on a hole, only ONE obstacle card may be played on EACH HOLE.

The player number cards are used to determine who gets a chance to play an obstacle card – if they want to.

On every ODD-NUMBERED hole, the player with the LOWEST player number card gets the first chance to play an obstacle card. If they choose NOT to play a card, the turn passes to the player with the second-lowest number, and so on, until someone plays a card – or all players have DECLINED to play a card on the hole.

You use the same process on EVERY hole you play but, on EVEN-NUMBERED holes, the player with the HIGHEST number gets the first chance to play an obstacle card, followed by the player with the second-highest number, and so on.

IMPORTANT: Deciding whether or not an obstacle card will be played must always be the FIRST thing that happens on a hole – BEFORE any helpful cards are played and before anyone hits a shot.

When an obstacle card is played, NO MORE obstacle cards may be played on that hole. If you decline to play an obstacle card when it’s your turn, you may NOT change your mind later.

After you play an obstacle card, put it away and don’t mix it with your unused cards.

NOTE: Even if someone has played an obstacle card on a hole, you can still use your helpful cards – as long as you ALWAYS remember to follow the instructions on the obstacle card as well.


If you think it’s too punishing to play with obstacle cards, or you just want to mix things up, feel free to play using ONLY the helpful cards.

You can also experiment with the number of cards dealt to each player until you’ve found a sweet spot that works best for your group and your playing format.



No, the fringe is NOT considered part of the green. A ball is on the green when any part of the ball is touching the green.


Cards that affect your, or an opponent’s, NEXT SHOT, FIRST SHOT, ONE SHOT, etc. only apply to that specific shot. If you need to re-hit your shot, use a provisional ball, take a mulligan, or similar, you should hit your next shot normally. However, for cards that affect ALL shots on a hole/green, this also INCLUDES re-hits, provisional balls, mulligans, etc.


Unless the mistake can be corrected, you incur a 2-stroke penalty.


Golf is a complex game and, even though we’ve designed the cards to work for multiple playing formats and many different scenarios, it’s possible that you could still end up in a situation not covered by the rules or card instructions. If that happens, decide as a group what the most fair and reasonable solution is.