The Royal Sydney Golf Club

Bay Course

Landscape Rehabilitation and Golf Course Renovation

Commenced in late 2023 and finalised in March 2025, The Royal Sydney Golf Club’s Bay Course is Australia’s finest and most exciting new golf course. Created by world-class Course Architect Gil Hanse and featuring the latest methodology in green, bunker and irrigation infrastructure, the course marries modern design with advanced technology to deliver a consistently world-glass golf experience.

But the Bay Course Project did not just deliver a golf course – it also represents a philosophy on purposeful use of golfing green space. The redevelopment included a comprehensive Landscape Plan that resulted in a net increase of 1,592 trees on the course, while a biodiverse understory was created by planting a rich array of 500,000 native plants endemic to the local area.

Now, as one of the most important sanctuaries of native flora and fauna in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, Royal Sydney aims to utilise the Bay Course for local biodiversity monitoring, native plant seed-banking and animal welfare programs, working with government and community organisations to achieve collective environmental goals.

Major environmental and community benefits have, and will continue to be, been gained from this project.

The project has resulted in a net increase of 1,592 trees on the course. The understorey is significantly more biodiverse with the planting of a rich array of 500,000 native plants endemic to the Eastern Suburbs, in addition to those that regenerate naturally.
Improved biodiversity, control of aggressive and invasive species, provision of wildlife corridors, restored bushland, contribution to the community’s understanding and valuing of biodiversity and providing habitat for birds, insects and fauna species.
Royal Sydney plans to also contribute to the wider community through the attraction of major golf events.
Setting an example for other golf courses, and other open spaces, to develop more environmentally sensitive approaches to landscape development and management.
Floral diversity has been quadrupled from 30 to more than 110 different native species (some rare and endangered), featuring different hues, textures and year-round flowering.
A restoration and maintenance of coastal heathland environments in urban Sydney including seed collection and natural regeneration experiments, partnerships.
A 20% reduction in water use, saving 73 million litres per year (equivalent of over 29 Olympic swimming pools).
A significant reduction in chemicals and fertilizers.