Golf Australia is preparing to defend the country’s public courses against re-zoning attempts as part of its five-year strategy released on Friday, even as participation growth skews towards non-traditional venues like simulators and driving ranges.
The sport reported annual growth in adult participation of 10% over the past five years, sustaining a boom that began during the Covid pandemic.
The greens and fairways at Moore Park in inner Sydney have been the highest-profile target for downsizing, with the NSW government confirming on Thursday the 18-hole course would be configured into a 12-hole layout, despite opposition from golfers. Venues on defence land are also earmarked for sale under the federal government’s defence sell-off.
Public courses at Elsternwick in Melbourne and Rosny Park in Hobart have become parklands in recent years, while Victoria Park in Brisbane was closed to golf in 2021 and the green space is now being repurposed for the 2032 Olympic stadium.
The number of the sport’s off-course venues such as driving ranges and simulator arcades is growing annually at almost 17%. However Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland said traditional courses were vulnerable to recent trends.
“There are a whole lot of different factors in society right now around housing or environmental issues or urban planning issues that can compromise existing golf courses that have been there for a hundred years or more,” he said.
“We are very aware of these issues, and we are there to help and support and to assist clubs and facilities in directional issues and advice that can help them to put up the best defence.”
Some courses that had been earmarked for conversion in recent years, such as Albert Park and Northcote in Melbourne, have resisted change. Others, including Hamersley and Wembley in Western Australia, and North Adelaide – which secured a long-term deal on Thursday to host the men’s and women’s Australian Opens – have received substantial public investment.
The sport’s governing body in Australia has commissioned research to be completed this year that Sutherland hopes will help underline the benefits of golf courses to decision-makers.
“Part of our messaging to those in political parties and others who are in the bureaucracy, they need to understand more about golf and its contribution to our society,” he said.
“The economic contribution, the health benefits and the environmental benefits are extremely important and I think are undervalued and not understood well enough.”
Gavin Kirkman, chief executive of professionals’ body the PGA of Australia – which was also part of the strategy – said the sport had to become more inclusive.
“I’m a traditionalist, but it’s very interesting to find out that people still don’t feel they’re welcome at certain facilities because they haven’t got a membership, the driveway says members only and so forth, so we’ve still got a lot of work to do there as well.”
