Following its support of the Oakleigh Golf Course, Golf Australia is again throwing its support behind all public golf facilities that continue to be the lifeblood of the golfing community.  As revealed in the Community Benefit Report released last week, golf is making a significant contribution to the Australian community through more than 3.5 million participants and a total community benefit of $3.3 billion.  Golf Australia welcomes the opportunity to work with Golf New South Wales and the NSW Government on the future of Moore Park Golf Course and the broader facility in central Sydney. The NSW Government continues to provide significant support for golf at a national level most recently through the ISPS HANDA Australian Open in Sydney next month, and also working closely with Golf New South Wales at a state level. As one of the busiest golf courses in Australia, and the only 18-hole public golf course within five kilometres of Sydney’s CBD, Moore Park is an extremely important and valuable community asset and hub that services more than 500,000 visitors each year, with 80 percent of rounds played over 18 holes. “Golf is booming with 3.3 million Australians playing the game, 2.2 million of who play golf on courses like Moore Park,” Golf Australia General Manager, Clubs, Facilities, and Places to Play Damien de Bohun said. “The recently released Community Benefits Of Golf In Australia report commissioned by the Australian Golf Industry Council (AGIC) found that more than half the adult population are already playing some form of golf or are considering taking up the game, with public golf courses crucial to the ongoing health of the game. “This burgeoning popularity and interest in golf is also being fuelled by the growing number of off-course facilities like driving ranges, mini golf and simulators”. “It is just so important to the health of the game that public facilities thrive.” “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. 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.” Welcoming a diverse patronage, with 82 percent living within 10kms, Moore Park is a crucial and publicly accessible provider of the proven benefits of golf. Offering health and well-being benefits, including prevention of chronic disease and improved mental health, golf’s broader social, economic, and environmental benefits total $3.3 billion annually according to the AGIC’s golf benefits report released last week, a number which Moore Park in its current form contributes to immensely. “The findings of the recently released AGIC report show just how big golf is in this country and the significant role it plays in improving players’ health and well-being through helping to prevent chronic diseases and offer improved mental health,” de Bohun said. “By way of example, 166,000 Australians would be considered physically inactive without the game of golf.” As part of the planned consultation process with the NSW Government, and with Golf NSW as the team on the ground in the region with experience in previous discussions regarding Moore Park’s future configuration, the environmental benefits of golf will be a key focal point.  Offering $236 million in environmental benefits for New South Wales (via water filtration and purification, flood and stormwater protection, carbon sequestration, urban cooling, and biodiversity), golf courses like Moore Park provide greater structural complexity of vegetation, as well as higher numbers and diversity of beetle, bug, and bird species than residential gardens and urban parklands.