Inner Sydney golf course to be slashed for parkland as city grows

The popular Moore Park Golf Course will be slashed almost in half and 20 hectares given to the creation of a new central park, as the state government attempts to balance rising urban density with access to green space.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said on Sunday that the increased housing density around Green Square, Zetland and Waterloo had created a demand for more parkland and sporting facilities that were accessible to a wider community than paying golfers.

Residents voiced support for keeping the 18-hole course several years ago. Credit: Wolter Peeters

“As the New South Wales government issues more density, more apartment living, more units, we need to balance that with more open space,” Minns said. “And this is a good decision when you consider the very limited options when it comes to open space in our community.”

Nine holes will be sacrificed for the new park and a discussion paper will be released next year to guide consultation with the City of Sydney, local community and stakeholders over how best to design the park. The government’s preference would be to plant the new park on the section of the course on the western boundary and north of Dacey Avenue, to maximise its proximity to residents.

It will consult the current golf course operator on the future of the remaining holes, the clubhouse and the driving range.

Moore Park Golf Course is one of 16 government-owned public golf courses in metropolitan Sydney and is run by a private operator under a service agreement with the NSW government. The NSW Department of Planning has said it is the third most-used golf course in Australia.

Chris Minns, New South Wales Premier, joins Lord Mayor Clover Moore to announce plans to transform part of Moore Park Golf Course into parklands.Credit: Jessica Hromas

Club president John Janik vowed to fight the reduction of the course, saying a nine-hole course would not be able to run competitions and would likely not survive. While the golf course was always busy, other sporting grounds in Moore Park that had been overlooked for redevelopment were barely utilised, he said.

“This course was built for the working class,” Janik said. “All the other golf courses in this area charge $30,000 to join. We only charge $2000 to join. I actually thought Labor represented the working class.”

The prospect of a reducing the number of holes at Moore Park Golf Club has been discussed for years, with proponents including Lord Mayor Clover Moore and former premier Bob Carr arguing that a park would make the public space available to a larger number of people.

Green Square’s urban renewal area is currently populated by 33,000 residents. The City of Sydney has forecast that 80,000 people will live within two kilometres of Moore Park by 2040.

The former planning minister, Rob Stokes, asked the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust to consider the proposal in 2020, but walked back from the idea after a backlash from golfers and floated instead the concept of a reconfigured golf course that did not reduce the number of holes.

Neither Golf NSW nor the operators of the course were told this time around that the government was seriously considering it before the announcement was made.

Addressing the media on Sunday, Moore said that when council decided to award the land to the establishment of a golf course in 1919, the land was largely industrial. But it had since been the subject of major urban renewal and was no longer the best use of the land.

“It is really about the use of public land and the use of public land in 2023 and into the future,” Moore said. “People that do the high density [living] really do need access to public parkland.”

Golfers teeing off in the afternoon said they would not continue their membership if the course was reduced to nine holes. Gautam Gandha said it was not an exclusive course and was one of the few affordable places to play golf close to the city.

Gautam Gandha tees off at the first hole at Moore Park Golf Course.Credit: Jessica Hromas

“Just look at the number of people who are enjoying it,” Gandha said. “Every day, it’s packed.”

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