Cammeray the latest golf course under threat in Sydney

Moves to carve up or kill off Sydney golf courses are mounting, with a North Sydney club the latest in the crosshairs. Poor planning by state and local governments is blamed for the clawbacks.

Meredith Stone and Sally Sutherland play golf at Cammeray golf course, the latest course under threat. Picture: Thomas Lisson

Cammeray is the latest Sydney golf club engulfed by a political turf war that has some of the city’s most popular courses fighting for survival.

A Labor MP and a former NSW Treasury official blame poor planning from state and local governments for an escalating issue that now sees Cammeray, a course established in 1906, under threat of a land grab.

North Sydney Council has released an Open Space and Recreation report that includes a “high priority” recommendation to “investigate alternative uses of (Cammeray) golf course”.

The report continues: “An identified issue for the Cammeray catchment is the large amount of open space land locked up from the community in its current form as the Cammeray Golf Course”.

It is the fourth active proposal to shrink or kill off public golf courses in Sydney, with Moore Park and Carnarvon also in the crosshairs, and Kogarah heading into extinction on March 31.

Cammeray Golf Club

The issue has outraged the sporting community and is now causing divisions within the Labor Government.

Auburn MP Lynda Voltz has told this masthead of a “very robust discussion” with Labor colleague Steve Kamper, the Minister whose portfolio covers Lands and Property — and Sport — over the prospect of Carnarvon golf course being replaced with a cemetery.

Ms Voltz says the failure of previous Coalition governments to adequately plan for future graveyards has triggered the Carnarvon issue but she will also fight any moves by Labor to shut down the course at Lidcombe.

“It’s too important an asset to lose,” Ms Voltz said. “I’m campaigning on this, we will fight this, I have resources and I will use them to save this golf course.

“This is a working class course, the people that play here are plumbers and electricians. This isn’t your high end golf club, this is a public course, this is Labor heartland.”

Jared Kendler, former Head of Major Precincts at NSW Treasury and a director of Moore Park Golf Club, has led the fight against the inner-city course being hacked in half under a government proposal that has vocal support from City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

“The benefits of golf and golf clubs are not well understood in NSW at a local council level,” he said.

“They are often ill-informed about golf’s popularity and the overall benefits to the community. Public golf courses just become an easy way for them to make a land grab and make up for poor planning at the local government level.

“Clover Moore has overseen planning for Sydney City Council for over 20 years. She has had plenty of opportunities to prioritise green spaces to support a growing population and increasing high-density developments … (and) she has failed to deliver.

“Now, her only option is to come after Moore Park Golf Course, a move that does not create incremental green space but instead strips our community of access to public golf.”

Councillor Merrill Witt, from neighbouring Woollahra Council, said the previous state government and City of Sydney Council should have set aside more land for green space “before they allowed density to skyrocket in Zetland and Alexandria”.

“They shouldn’t be appropriating much-needed sport facilities like a much-loved, popular and very accessible golf course (in Moore Park),” she said.

Golf is booming across Australia with the availability of the sport during the COVID-19 pandemic providing the catalyst for significant increases in awareness, popularity and participation.

“Golf has never been more popular and the range of people flocking to the game has never been younger or more diverse,” Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland told this masthead. “It’s for that reason we need to be talking about more golf courses, not less.”

Moore Park Golf course. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Sutherland said 3.8 million Australians played the game in the 2024 financial year, a 9 per cent increase on the previous 12 months. Club memberships also increased to almost 500,000, growth of 19 per cent in just five years.

“The growth in junior membership was probably the specific highlight … a 33.4 per cent increase from last year,” he said in the 2024 Golf Participation Report.

“Golf accounts for $10.3 billion of expenditure per year, generating more than $3 billion in community benefits … highlighted by $860 million of physical and mental health benefits each year.”

Ms Voltz added: “Governments have to start thinking about what the benefits are when we’ve got ageing populations, when with preventive health, 40% of it lies in exercise.

“They’ve got to start recognising the benefits that those cradle to grave sports deliver, whether it’s golf, tennis or swimming. Either you start protecting your sporting infrastructure or your health budget blows out.

“Carnarvon golf course by a country mile is the biggest one in the region and it’s probably the busiest one in western Sydney.

“It has just in bookings alone 1500 rounds a week. It’s hugely diverse which reflects my community. We have a big Asian population and the course is heavily used.

“They queue up 10 deep on every hole at weekends, but not just weekends. Every day of the week that carpark is full. There is a 90-year-old woman who plays three times a week. I think governments should actually recognise what sports like golf bring to their communities.”

Carnarvon Golf Club. Picture: Supplied

At Cammeray Golf Club, General Manager Layton Gould said 80% of all rounds were played by social or public golfers, the reigning club champion is a 15-year-old on a handicap of 1, and a member in his mid-90s comes to the course up to five times a week to play.

“His love of golf keeps him engaged in the community and provides him with both physical and mental health benefits,” Mr Gould said.

Kendler added: “Golf courses are melting pots that bring together people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. In a time when mental health issues are on the rise, they serve as vital hubs in our cities. Golf has proven health, economic and social benefits.

“In what other sport do you see a 12-year-old spending four and a half hours with a 70-year-old, engaging in meaningful conversations and learning life lessons while focusing on a game away from mobile phones?”

While Moore Park, Carnarvon and Cammeray fight to stay afloat, Kogarah golf course will close in two months. Originally an 18-hole layout, the club lost three holes to a highway development and was going to be further eroded for transport routes, leaving even a nine-hole course unviable.

The site will be redeveloped to include a warehouse hub, a 12-storey hotel and an eight-storey office and retail premises.

“There are close to 90 golf courses in the Sydney area and the NSW Government is committed to working with relevant stakeholders to ensure participants can continue to access a diverse range of golf offerings,” a government spokesperson said.

Originally published as Cammeray the latest golf course under threat in Sydney