Golfers teeing off on the first hole at The Hills are greeted by a 3m-high painted bronze sculpture of an old man seated on a three-legged travelling stool.
The work, The Seated Man, is by renowned English sculptor Sean Henry, who flew to New Zealand last weekend to find a location for his work.
''He likes to place his work somewhere where there's a bit of time between you seeing it and getting to it,'' Sir Michael said.
He recalled that after Queenstown golf professional Ben Campbell played the hole on Monday, ''he said it looked terrific from the tee, but it mucked all the perspective up for everyone''.
''What I particularly like is the way the colours just blend so beautifully into the landscape.''
Five months ago, Mr Henry installed a near-identical sculpture on the North York Moors in England, where the old man also contemplates a stunning view.
Henry said the man was anonymous, like almost all his figures.
''At the end of the day, art is the expression of the imagination.''
Whether his figure is happy in his thoughts, or melancholic, depends on your mindset, Henry said.
His three-legged travelling stool, however, is based on one used by his grandfather.
Henry had the sculpture cast in bronze in Italy, trucked back to England, and then shipped to Dunedin.
The Seated Man follows in the footsteps of The Hill's other major sculptural pieces, such as a Chinese warrior with a pack of 110 wolves and five prancing horses.
Sir Michael, who is not aware of any other golf courses doubling as sculpture parks, said Henry told him he felt privileged to put his art on such a beautiful property.
In return, Sir Michael said he was privileged to be custodian of the work.
He has already commissioned another sculpture, he said.
''I'm not telling you about it, but it's a NZ artist and it's quite outside the box.''
-By Philip Chandler
