How a controversial plan for this 120-year-old bowlo is dividing Mosman

Perhaps more than anybody else, Tony Winton, the longest-serving member of Warringah Bowling Club in Mosman, knows the harsh reality facing community institutions such as his.

More than 50 bowling clubs have closed in Sydney in the last decade, struggling against changing social trends and with an ageing clientele. So when the club’s board suggested installing pickleball courts on one green to ensure the 120-year-old bowlo’s survival, the 85-year-old happily gave it his blessing.

Secretary Liarne Peek says “bowling clubs need a makeover”, and pickleball will attract a younger clientele.Credit: Rhett Wyman

“Personally, I think it’s a great idea for the club … and it’s not going to stop the club from being a bowling club because we still have the top green,” said Winton, who became a member in 1970 when his late father was club secretary.

“One thing we don’t want is for this very old club to collapse because there’s not enough money. If this is the best solution, and it’s going to really help the club, then I support the board’s decision.”

The pickleball proposal has divided club members and surrounding residents on Bradleys Head Road.

Having recorded losses of more than $200,000 in the past two years, the board hopes pickleball will attract families and young people to a club where the average age of members is 70.

Two-thirds of one green will be replaced with six new pickleball courts.Credit: Rhett Wyman

But opponents have voiced concerns about the noise disturbance, and questioned whether pickleball will just be a “passing fad”.

Under the proposed redevelopment, to be paid for by local group Mosman Pickleball, two-thirds of one green will be replaced with six new synthetic courts, while the club’s second green will remain untouched. A 12-year licensing agreement with Mosman Pickleball would see the courts operate from 7am-10pm daily.

Club secretary Liarne Peek said 60 per cent of the current bowling greens will be retained, “more than enough for our active bowlers to use”.

“The club has struggled financially for a very long time. We need more foot traffic, and we’re hoping that bringing in pickleball will attract an absolutely new cross-section of people to the club,” said Peek.

How the pickleball courts could look. Credit: Warringah Bowling Club

Peek said the development would see a projected 37 per cent increase in the club’s turnover, mostly from food and drink sales.

The cost of maintaining the bowling greens is the most expensive part of running the club, Peek says. Reduced greenkeeping fees as a result of the new courts would help keep the club’s costs down.

Steps will be taken to combat potential disturbances, including the installation of soundproofing measures and new “sound-deadening” pickleball bats, which, according to Peek, “won’t stop the noise completely, but will help”.

“There are some people in my membership that aren’t for it. They want it to stay nice and quiet, but nice and quiet doesn’t keep a roof over our heads,” she said.

The average age of members at Warringah Bowling Club is 70.Credit: Rhett Wyman

“Bowling clubs need a makeover. I love a busy, vibrant place. We will always be a bowling club, but in general, they’re a dying breed. I’m looking forward to having pickleball here and I’m looking forward to having heaps more people here.”

Husband and wife Terry Gilchrist and Julie Overall have been social members at the club for several years. They live opposite the bowling club and will be voting no to the pickleball proposal.

“At first we thought it was a great idea, until we heard about the extent and the hours of it. It’s a definite no,” Gilchrist said.

“Noise travels very much here; we are on a sandstone rock base here and noise travels far … there are others in the building who would share the same view, and are totally opposed.

“The decibel count would be enormously high as we understand, and it just wouldn’t suit us here to have noise and lights on until 10 at night while people are trying to sleep. There are a number of young people in our apartment, with kids. It just doesn’t work.”

Gilchrist is also concerned about the aesthetic changes to the bowling greens. “The synthetic will be ugly compared to the grass that we use for bowls,” he said.

Jilly Dyson, a longtime Mosman local who also lives on Bradleys Head Road, dismissed noise concerns and said the proposal could support community activity.

“The noise is fine [and] the people who play are fabulous,” Dyson said. “I’ve never met anyone that was disrespectful, and I see a lot of people [playing] from my building.”

Pickleball players Evan Bushell and Charlie Sutton, who have welcomed the proposal.Credit: Steven Siewert

The proposal has also been welcomed by local pickleball player Charlie Sutton, who is currently forced to travel to other parts of the north shore to compete.

“There’s no available courts that you can rent in Mosman,” she said.

“Pickleball is easy – friends can come down with you, and you can teach them … and also family members, grandparents, as it’s a lower-impact sport.”

Tom Haslam, director at Mosman Pickleball, said, “The sport has really grown in Australia. It’s benefiting the local community and getting people active ... It brings together people from all demographics.”

The club’s 1197 members will get the chance to vote on an ordinary resolution for or against the new pickleball courts on April 14, which will require 50 per cent of members plus one person to pass.

If the vote passes, the club will begin the process of lodging a development application with the local council.

Peek is confident it will pass. “The general consensus is really positive,” she said.

But Andrew Woodforth, a Mosman local who has been a member of the club for 18 months, is worried pickleball might be a “passing fad”.

“Change is always a bit confronting. I’m not here to stand in the way of progress, but by the same token, is pickleball a passing fad? Are we signing the club up to something that’s not going to see the day out and then we’ve lost a beautiful bowling green?” Woodforth said.

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