NSW won't chip away at other public golf courses once it's taken a slice of Australia's most popular public links.
Almost half of the century-old, 18-hole Moore Park Golf Course, adjacent to the SCG, will be turned into a central park in the heart of Sydney from mid-2026.
Premier Chris Minns acknowledged the championship golf course was extremely popular, attracting more than half a million people every year, but said the neighbouring Centennial Park precinct welcomed 70 times that number.
Significant population growth near the course and pressures on family budgets had played on his mind.
"I'm looking at ways for your typical family to be able to spend time with family and friends without putting their hands into their back pockets," Mr Minns told reporters.
"A big, new 20-hectare park will do just that."
However, he committed to making no further encroachments on public golf courses before the next election, describing Moore Park as a unique case driven by its proximity to the middle of Sydney.
Including a massive urban renewal project at Green Square, about 80,000 people are expected to live within 2km of Moore Park by 2040.
Moore Park Golf Club president John Janik compared a nine-hole course to playing cricket on half an oval and said reducing the facility would set up the club to fail.
But Mr Minns said he didn't believe that was the case and promised to retain the club's main revenue raiser, its driving range.
Mr Janik also criticised "exaggerated" Centennial Park patronage figures for including people walking to work.
His club's historic course provided a rare opportunity for the average person to play an expensive sport, he said.
"We're always designed for working-class people," Mr Janik told ABC Radio.
"This is the only opportunity to play a championship golf course in Sydney (on public land)."
The public will be able to have its say on the change and guide where on the golf course's footprint the parkland is established.
It follows the previous state government carving up Cammeray Golf Course in the city's north to accommodate the building of the Western Harbour Tunnel.
Golf Australia pointed to a report released last week commissioned by governing bodies showing community golf generated $3.3 billion in economic and social benefits annually.
This includes $860 million in physical and mental health benefits from those playing in 1600 locations nationally.
The body's clubs and facilities general manager Damien de Bohun said more and more people are taking up golf.
"With thousands of Australians now picking up the sport each year through mini golf, simulators and driving ranges, it is a natural progression for many of them to continue their golfing journey, via what has always been the entry point, at public golf courses like Moore Park," he said.
"Many of these golfers choosing to continue for the rest of their golfing lives at public courses due to the lifestyle, cost and social benefits offered by these facilities.”
The Total Environment Centre said the proposed park would form a crucial part of the social contract for denser housing in the Moore Park area.
"We can't let a privileged golf club stand in the way of a liveable city as the population and denser housing grows," director Jeff Angel said.
