Card Golf mirrors the game of golf to a tee. The rules, the golf clubs and even the world’s top golf courses have been condensed into this fun, easy to play and addicting card game. It’s golf in a box. So if you or someone you know is into golf, or if you want to teach someone about the game, then Card Golf is perfect for you.
Ever get tired of playing poker, rummy, go-fish, or any other card games you might play? Card Golf just might be the game for you, especially if you’re a golfer or interested in learning how to golf.
The deck for Card Golf consists of 51 cards ranging from 1 yard putters up through 250 yard drivers. It also comes with a rule/instruction card and two sample score cards to get you started. A single Card Golf deck is designed to be played by 2 people and it does the job pretty well.
The basics of the game is that you want to add up the yardages on your cards to be more than the length of the hole. If your cards add up exactly to the yardage you aren’t given any penalty strokes, 1-5 yards over and you get one penalty, and then it goes up from there until a maximum of 4 penalty strokes.
Last night I sat down and played two hands using the scorecard for Pebble Beach. For the first couple of holes I made the mistake of thinking about the card game too much like a regular golf hole. I’d hit it long off the tee, make an approach shot, and then try to putt for birdie. This is where the game of Card Golf can mix things up a bit, because there are some real potential chances to make eagles.
The first hand (player) I played was doing quite well making birdie on the first two holes and my second player went par, birdie to start. Then I realized I could try to make it in with two shots each time and if the yardages turned our right, I could even get the exact yardage using two cards. My first hand went on to eagle the next three holes and take a commanding lead. After another birdie, I was 9 under after 6 holes! A triple bogey 6 on the next hole, a par 3, ruined that real quick. While getting three eagles in a row is something I’ll most likely never do, I know what a 6 feels like on a short hole!
I kept playing along with both of my players and my first player cruised along by only giving up the tee on 4 holes out of 18 to the second hand I was playing. The scores for the front nine were 29 and 35 and then 31 and 32 on the back for 18 hole scores of 60 and 67, which are -12 and -5. Not bad!
Card Golf is a game anyone can learn and it doesn’t take long to play. While it doesn’t quite equate to real golf in a lot of aspects, you can learn a few things. One of the things I didn’t like was the lack of using a putter. The putter is the most frequently used club in every one’s golf bag (when playing real golf) and there wasn’t a requirement to use it in this game. In fact, there was a time when one of my players didn’t have a putter card in the hand for 3 holes, so I couldn’t have used one if I wanted to.
Overall I was really pleased with the game. The deck is well designed and should hold up for many 18 hole rounds of play. Card Golf would make a great gift for any golfer who is trying to get through the winter months.