The Golf Course Tips (Solution)
The Golf Course: Tips (Solution)
Do not jump to the solved board yet. Try a few more deductions first; if you are stuck, click View hint.
Coordinate note: R1 means row 1, C1 means column 1, and C1R1 is the upper-left cell. Hole numbers refer to the golf-course regions on the map.
1-6
Hint 1: lock the early holes
- Start with B's clue: B is beside a tree on hole 4, so B is on hole 4. H's hole number is less than 4, and among holes 1, 2, and 3 only hole 1 has a golf cart, so H is on hole 1.
- H also says the person in the same hole is female. Check the female clues and exclude A because hole 1 has no water, B because B is not with H, E because E is on an even hole, J because J is on holes 6, 7, or 8, M because M is on holes 3, 4, or 5, and N because hole 1 has no sand. Therefore F or I is with H. Hole 1 covers four columns and already has three people, matching the odd-hole odd-count rule, so it cannot add another person.
- The cart on hole 1 is in row R12, so the other positions in that row can be crossed out. The flag positions on holes 4 and 5 are crossed out, so M and K are on hole 3. M can only be at C15R3.
- M and K are in the same hole. Hole 3 currently has two known people, so it must gain one more person to satisfy the odd-hole rule. In hole 3, nobody can stand in water, leaving only rows R1 and R2. Combining O's clue, O occupies row R1, so K must be in row R2.
- From step 4, hole 3 can only have three people: O, K, and M. O's clue together with G's clue forces O to C11R1. Every remaining position in row R2 outside hole 3 can be crossed out.
- J's clue says she is on the tee of hole 6, 7, or 8. Hole 8's tee is no longer possible, so she can only be on hole 6 or 7. If she were on the tee of hole 7 at C5R11, she would occupy column C5 and row R11. E's clue says E is on an even-numbered flag; the remaining even flags are holes 6 and 8, and those flags are exactly in J's column and row. That assumption fails, so J must be on hole 6's tee at C9R14, and E is fixed on hole 6's flag at C5R13.
7-10
Hint 2: resolve F, I, G, and H
- Now place I and F. I's clue says I is northwest of F. If I were on the cart, she could only be at C1R12, and F could only be at C2R15. Unfortunately, F would occupy column C2 and row R15, which are G's clue position, so that hypothesis fails. The only remaining possibility is that F is on the cart, and F can only be at C4R12.
- Hole 6 currently has two people, and the remaining rows are not enough to add two more people, so the other positions in hole 6 can be crossed out.
- Look at row R16. The open positions show that hole 5 must contain someone in R16. Odd holes must have an odd number of people, so the other positions in hole 5 can be crossed out. Also, G is fixed: G can only be on hole 2 at C2R5.
- Row R15 now has only one remaining position. Combining that with I's clue, the position must be H: H is at C1R15.
11-18
Hint 3: finish the golf course
- I's column is now fixed as C3. C3R4 on hole 2 can be crossed out. Hole 2 now only has C6R4 left, and to satisfy the even-hole even-count rule, that position must contain someone. Therefore the other positions in row R4 and column C6 can be crossed out.
- D now has only one position left: C10R11. I also has only one position left: C3R10.
- A's clue says A is beside water, and only C13R16 remains.
- For hole 4, B must be on that hole. To satisfy the even-hole even-count rule, hole 4 needs one more person. The open positions are in columns C14 and C16, so K is determined: K can only be at C11R2.
- Check N's clue: she is on sand. Sand appears on holes 2, 7, and 8. Combining F and L's clues, her hole number is more than one greater than F's and smaller than L's, so she cannot be on hole 2 or 8. She must be on hole 7, fixed at C7R7.
- The remaining positions on hole 4 that satisfy B's clue leave only one answer: B is at C14R9.
- L's hole number is greater than N's. Since N is on hole 7, L can only be on hole 8. Hole 8 has only one position left, so L is at C8R8.
- Only two positions remain on the map. C's clue quickly resolves them: C is at C6R4, and V is at C16R6.
All hint layers are open. Use the solved board only to check your final placement.
