Free Golf card game score sheet and calculator, and how to make your own

How to score the Golf card game

In six-card Golf, everyone has six cards face down in two rows of three, and turns two of them face up to start. On your turn you take the top card from the deck or the discard pile and swap it for one of your cards, or throw it away. When someone has all six cards face up, everyone else gets one more turn, then you all turn your cards over and count. Like real golf, the lowest score wins.

Example: top row A, K, 5 and bottom row A, 2, 5. The two Aces are a pair in the first column, so they score 0. The two 5s are a pair too, so 0. That leaves the King (0) and the 2 (−2), so the hand is worth −2. A game is usually 9 holes (nine hands), and the score keeper can do 4, 6, 9 or 18. Some families score Jacks as 0 or count pairs of 2s as −4; if you do, just type your own number in.

Your own Golf score keeper for family card nights

You'll describe the score keeper to a free AI assistant, paste what it writes into a file, and open it in your browser. Then add the game's own rules, the winner, saving and printing, one step at a time.

• A score sheet with a column for every player and a row for every hole, adding up as you go
• A card counter: tap the six cards in front of you and it scores the hand, with pairs in a column counting 0
• Standings that put the lowest score on top, and a winner after the last hole
• Undo, saving so a closed tab doesn't lose the game, and tap-to-fix for any score
• Printable blank Golf score sheets, with the card values at the bottom

Good for: families who play Golf at the cabin or the holiday table, grandparents who'd rather not do mental arithmetic with negative numbers, and anyone who has ever argued about whether a pair of 2s is worth −4.

What you need

Build it in five steps

Step 1 gives you a simple version that works, and each step after it adds more. The score keeper at the top of this page is roughly what you'll have once you've done every step. Yours will look a bit different, because the AI writes its own version each time.

1. Ask for a simple Golf score sheet

   Copy this prompt into your AI assistant:

   Copy this promptCopy

   I don't know how to code. Please make me a Golf card game score keeper that runs in a web browser, for my family to use instead of a paper score sheet.
   
   Requirements:
   - ONE single HTML file (HTML, CSS and JavaScript together), no external libraries, no internet needed. I will save it and double-click it.
   - At the top, a list of players with a name box for each, an "Add player" button (up to 8 players) and a small remove button. Start with two players called "Player 1" and "Player 2".
   - Below, a score table with one column for each player and one row for each hole, 9 holes in a game. Under each score, show the player's running total in smaller text.
   - At the end of each round, a big number button next to each player's name. Tapping it opens a number pad (with a minus key, because scores can be below zero) to type their score. A "Save round" button adds the round to the table once everyone has a score.
   - A "Total" row at the bottom. In Golf the LOWEST total wins, so highlight the lowest total.
   - Big, clear, friendly design with a dark background and buttons big enough to tap on a phone.
   
   Please give me the complete file in one code block, then tell me in simple steps how to save and open it.

   Copy the code, paste it into your text editor, and save it as golf-scores.html. Double-click it, type your family's names and add a couple of holes.

2. Add a card counter that scores the hand

   This is the bit that saves the arguments. Instead of adding up six cards in your head, you tap them in and the page does it.

   Copy this promptCopy

   That works, thank you. When I tap a player's score button, please add a card counter above the number pad:
   - Six empty card spaces in two rows of three, like the cards on the table. Below them, buttons for every card: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K and Joker, each with its points in small print.
   - Tapping a card button puts that card in the next empty space, top row first. Tapping a card in the grid takes it away again.
   - Score the cards like this: Ace = 1, 2 = minus 2, 3 to 10 = face value, Jack = 10, Queen = 10, King = 0, Joker = minus 2. If the two cards in a column (one above the other) are the same, that column scores 0, even if they are both 2s. Give paired columns a green outline.
   - Show the hand's score in big numbers as I go, and put it into the number pad so I can press "Done".
   
   Send me the complete updated file.

   Always ask for the complete file. Replace everything in golf-scores.html, save, and refresh the tab (F5 or Cmd+R).

3. Add the standings, the dealer and the winner

   Now it knows how a Golf game ends, and whose turn it is to deal.

   Copy this promptCopy

   Please add:
   - A "Standings" list next to the table, sorted from lowest total to highest, with a place number for each player.
   - Show "Hole 3 of 9" above the score buttons, and a setting for 4, 6, 9 or 18 holes.
   - Say who deals each hole, moving one player along each time.
   - When the last hole is saved, the game is over: show the winner (the lowest total) or a tie in a big friendly message, with a "Play again" button.
   
   Send me the complete updated file.

4. Save the game, add undo, and print score sheets

   Someone always types the wrong number, and someone always closes the tab. This step fixes both, and gives you paper sheets for when you'd rather use a pencil.

   Copy this promptCopy

   Please add saving, undo and printing:
   - Save the players and the game in localStorage after every change, so refreshing or closing the page doesn't lose anything. Add a note saying "Your game saves in this browser only. Nothing is sent anywhere." and a "Clear saved game" button that asks first.
   - An "Undo" button that takes back the last change, however many times I press it. Keep a copy of the whole game before each change to make this simple.
   - Let me tap any score in the table to change it, and work all the totals out again.
   - A "Print" panel with a choice of "A4" and "US Letter" paper, and buttons to print:
     1. A blank score sheet that fills one page, with six player columns (a score and a running total for each), a row for every round, and the scoring rules in a box at the bottom.
     2. The game being played right now, with everyone's scores filled in.
   - When printing, show only the sheet, with no buttons, using a print stylesheet and @page with the right paper size and 10 mm margins. Every sheet must fit on exactly one page.
   
   Send me the complete updated file.

5. Make it look and feel finished

   Last of all, the touches that make it nice to pass round the table.

   Copy this promptCopy

   Please finish it off:
   - Coloured animal avatars for players, which I can change, and up and down arrows to change the order.
   - A strip of player cards across the top showing each player's total, with a crown on whoever is winning.
   - A big celebration with confetti when someone wins, and a "Play again" button that keeps the players.
   - A "Keep the screen awake" tick box using the Wake Lock API, hidden or greyed out if the browser can't do it.
   - On a phone, stack everything in one column, make every button at least 44 pixels tall, and let the score table scroll sideways inside its box, never the whole page.
   
   Send me the complete updated file.

Quick fixes

Questions people ask

Twist it into something else

Players, rounds, undo, saving and printing work for almost any game with a score pad. Change the first prompt to make:

Your rules, your table, no adding up

Paper score pads go missing, the printable sheets still leave you adding up minus numbers, and most score apps are full of adverts. Yours knows exactly how your family scores Golf, works on any phone or tablet, keeps the game if someone closes the tab, and never sends your scores anywhere. It's also a great first "real" app: buttons, tables, saving and printing, all in one small file you understand.

What to build next