An independent concept proposal for Moore Park Golf Course
The Future of Moore Park
Sydney deserves more than another grass field.
The case for change
A large piece of inner Sydney,
serving a small share of the city.
Moore Park Golf Course sits between some of the fastest growing residential neighbourhoods in Australia. The numbers behind its current use are worth reading carefully.
Projected to live within 2 km of Moore Park as Green Square and surrounds continue to densify.
City of Sydney / Green Square urban renewal projections
Moore Park Golf Course occupies roughly the same footprint as all of Sydney Park.
Comparative area
Against 31 million annual visits to Centennial Parklands as a whole.
Centennial Parklands Annual Report 2018/19
And just 0.6% of children. A large public footprint serving a small share of the community.
AusPlay 2019
In 2020, the City of Sydney ran its largest ever online survey on reconfiguring the course, with 10,299 responses. 50% supported creating more parkland online, and 77% supported it in the accompanying phone survey of nearby households.
Support was strongly geographic. Residents in Redfern, Waterloo and Green Square, closest to the course, were overwhelmingly in favour of returning more of the land to public use.
Building on existing work
A proposal already exists. This asks the next question.
In 2023, the City of Sydney, Lord Mayor Clover Moore, former NSW Premier Bob Carr and Business Sydney put forward a proposal to reconfigure Moore Park Golf Course from 18 to 9 holes, returning approximately 18.7 hectares to public parkland.
That proposal makes the case for reclaiming the land. This concept asks the next question: once reclaimed, what should it become?
The official proposal envisions passive green space, walking paths, canopy and picnic areas. This independent concept explores a more active destination on the same reclaimed footprint, keeping the retained 9 hole course, clubhouse, driving range and parking intact.
Current vs proposed
From private course to public destination.
Drag to compare. The same land, reimagined as an active public space.
Today: private golf course. Proposed: an active public destination.
The masterplan
A concept layout for the reclaimed footprint.
A single, walkable destination organised around a central wakeboarding lake, with community amenity woven through the perimeter.
- 1Wakeboarding cable system
- 2Clubhouse and cafe
- 3Picnic cove
- 4Community hub and sports facility
- 5Modern playground and water play
- 6Walking and jogging track
- 7Event lawn
- 8Native gardens
- 9Pedestrian bridge
A day at the park
Wakeboarding, cafes, and everyday life on the water.
Why this matters
A civic asset, not a single sport.
The value of this concept sits in what it opens up to the rest of Sydney, well beyond wakeboarding.
Public access
From a facility used by 4.8% of adults to a park designed for everyone.
Health and activity
Wakeboarding, running, outdoor gym, and everyday movement built into daily life.
Economic activation
Cafes, events and local business flow-on effects across the eastern city.
Family and community
Free, accessible activities for kids and families across every season.
Environmental improvement
Native planting and reduced turf water and chemical use compared to fairways.
Year round use
Unlike golf, active every season, day and night, weekday and weekend.
Addressing the critics
Honest answers to fair questions.
The official 2023 proposal retains a 9 hole course, clubhouse, driving range and parking. This concept is compatible with that same retained footprint, and does not require additional golf land to be given up.
Would you support this?
Have your say on the concept.
A simple, private sentiment check. Individual responses are collected anonymously and results are not published.
Share the vision
Imagine this instead.
Copy the link and send it to a neighbour, a friend, or your local councillor.