Abstract: In urban areas where public land for habitat protection is limited, golf courses can play an important role in supporting biodiversity. Out-of-play areas on golf courses present an opportunity for restoring and enhancing biodiversity in ecologically simplified landscapes. We aimed to develop a greater understanding of factors that enable or constrain the adoption of improved biodiversity practices on Sydney’s golf courses.

The project consisted of three stages:

1. Mapping the location of golf courses across the greater Sydney region in relation to priority conservation areas;

2. A participatory workshop with golf course superintendents and managers drawn from across the greater Sydney region. The workshop findings informed the development of a survey instrument; and,

3. A survey of golf course staff across the greater Sydney region to determine the heterogeneity of capacity to adopt improved practices for biodiversity.

Critical factors were identified that constrain and support the adoption of practices to improve biodiversity conservation on golf courses. We found that the influence of constraining and enabling factors varied spatially across the region. The reasons for this variation were complex and related to the interaction of local biophysical and social context in which the club operates rather than simply to issues such as land tenure. The findings of this project provide a baseline from which to measure temporal changes in capacity resulting from targeted capacity building initiatives and related improvements in conservation outcomes.