Golf appears to have won a battle in the war over Moore Park, the inner-Sydney public course that has come under threat.

Rob Stokes, the New South Wales Planning and Public Spaces Minister, has come out in favor of retaining the full 18 holes at Moore Park, despite Mayor Clover Moore’s push for a reduction to nine holes.

According to Sydney media reports today, Stokes has asked the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust, which oversees Centennial Park and Moore Park, to investigate how the NSW Government can create more public access to the golf course while retaining 18 holes.

The Minister said this should be possible with a “small modification” to the golf course.

In October the City of Sydney released two options for reducing the course by half, but the consultation period has seen fierce debate. At least four state MPs have spoken out against Cr Moore’s proposal in the past few weeks.

Golf Australia has also said it is disappointed with the proposal.

But Stokes’ intervention appears to be significant. He told the Sydney Morning Herald that the club was a "significant component of the sustainable funding and management of Centennial, Queens and Moore parks", contributing 39 per cent of the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust’s income.