Holey Moley Sydney will attempt to blend the holy trinity of alcohol, tiny sport and live music.

In an exclusive to The Brag, the new owners of the beloved venue that housed Newtown Social Club in Sydney’s Inner West have announced that they will be replacing the iconic music venue with… a mini-golf themed bar. The bar will be called Holey Moley Sydney, and will attempt to blend the holy trinity of alcohol, tiny sport and live music.

They're turning Newtown Social Club in to a Mini Golf Bar. What is wrong with Sydney!? pic.twitter.com/3IeIauerrp — Micheal Evans (@MrMichealEvans) March 9, 2017

Newtown Social Club announced in January that it would be closing in April this year. To many people, it felt like another nail in the coffin for Sydney’s live music scene which has been suffering since the NSW government introduced their controversial lockout laws.

There has reportedly been a 40 percent drop in live performance revenue within the city’s CBD lockout area since 2014. Statistics also show that there has been a 19 percent decrease in attendance figures at nightclubs and dance venues. Though Newtown isn’t in the lockout-affected area, it was a refuge for music-lovers. Live music venues around the city have been forced to close shop in this way. This week also brought the closure of Glebe venue Mr Falcon’s.

Newtown Social Club’s owners put their decision down to “the current regulatory climate in Sydney and the inherent challenges therein”. News of the closure was met with almost universal dismay.

The Newtown Social Club was the only live music venue in Sydney where I truly felt comfortable and at home and I'm so sad it's closing. — Fraser A. Gorman (@fraseragorman) January 25, 2017

Newtown Social Club closing is fucking depressing. Seen so many brilliant acts there, and it's just a top goddamn pub. Fuck this city — Rogue Andrew Staff (@AndrewM138) January 25, 2017

As music venues flounder in Sydney, it seems particularly cruel to replace them with boozy mini-golf, part of the ‘gimmick bar’ trend. Gimmick venues such as the George Costanza-themed bar that opened last year in Melbourne seem to be propagating at an unseemly rate.

The company that owns Holey Moley Sydney runs another mini-golf themed bar in Brisbane, and also owns Sky Zone trampoline centres and the Strike Bowling chain, however they have stated that they intend to keep the venue as a live music hub.

“We’re very conscious that Newtown Social Club has been an absolute cornerstone to the Sydney live music industry, helping launch and support local artists, and we intend only to strengthen its reputation with the launch of our new Holey Moley venue,” said Funlab CEO Michael Schreiber.

“We plan on providing the community in Newtown an entertainment alternative — a social space which brings people together to have fun. We’re committed to maintaining a music element and have some absolutely phenomenal plans in place to assure the venue reflects the tastes of the community,” added Schreiber.

Perhaps Sydney has become too cynical. Drinking while playing golf could be the defibrillator that Sydney’s nightlife actually needs! It could be a real hole-in-one! I doubt it though.

The new owners of Newtown Social are converting it into a putt putt bar. Finally, the meeting spot the community has been crying out for. — very festive tweets (@adam_lewis) March 9, 2017

—

Feature image via Holey Moley. Holey Moley Sydney is opening in early June.

—

Patrick Lenton is a writer and author. He tweets at @patricklenton.