Costs could be passed onto patrons as Sydney bowlo cops 420 per cent rent spike

The president of a Sydney bowls club said he may have to pass the cost onto his patrons after Crown Lands NSW hit them with a 420 per cent rent increase.

Bondi Bowling Club is a not-for-profit run by volunteers and has no pokies machines to build revenue.

This will mean the club will go from paying $22,000 a year in rent to close to $95,000 a year and Matty Graham told Today he is reeling from the decision.

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"To say I am devastated would be an understatement, it feels like a bit of a classic stitch really," he said.

Matty said around 10,000 people come through the club's gates each year to experience barefoot bowls and it is their 90th year anniversary this year.

But he said Crown Lands NSW decision is based on market value of the land.

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"How do you place market value on a bowling club and the value it gives back to its local community?" he said.

"We don't know how it is going to impact our ability to give back to the local community, whether that means cuts in services, cuts in operating hours, having to put up prices - the last thing we want to do is put pokies back in."

See more of Matty's chat with Today in the video above