John Hart has no doubt the New Zealand Open can quickly regain its status as a premier - and financially sustainable - sporting event.
It has been a wild few years for New Zealand golf's signature tournament.
It was badly stung by the excessive investment in getting Tiger Woods here a decade ago, and it had plunged into a moribund state before being revived at The Hills in 2007.
Sir Michael Hill provided a spectacular new home for the event, and it flourished.
The three Opens held in Arrowtown were popular with spectators and sponsors, and the link with the PGA Tour's second tier provided a flow of outstanding young players.
Then followed another dip, with the Open removed from The Hills, downgraded in status and hosted at a much less spectator-friendly venue, Clearwater.
So, here we are again.
The Open is coming back to The Hills - and Millbrook, in a co-hosting arrangement - with an accompanying pro-am, following a deal between New Zealand Golf and the New Zealand PGA, which has held two pro-ams at Hill's exclusive course.
Hart, the former long-serving Auckland and All Blacks coach, is the chairman of the company established to ensure it works.
''We are totally committed to making this a very significant golf tournament and an iconic event in the New Zealand sporting calendar,'' Hart said in Dunedin yesterday.
''We're taking the risk. We've got to fund it. So we want to grow at a steady pace within a financially sustainable model.
''We're going well. The key thing is getting the funding in place, so we've put a lot of emphasis on that.''
The Open budget was about $3.5 million, and organisers had raised all but about $100,000, Hart said.
The Government had poured in $900,000 and the Queenstown council chipped in $100,000 just this month.
A decent chunk of funding has been raised from selling pro-am spots. The amateur field (boosted to 132 golfers thanks to the two-course format) is full, and more than half of the hackers are paying $10,000 for the opportunity.
Hart is an unashamed fan of the pro-am format.
''This tournament would not have got Government support or sponsorship if it was just a normal championship.
''The pro-am gives sponsors huge opportunities. It gives the Government the same opportunities to get people involved. It really promotes New Zealand from a tourism point of view and makes it more attractive to investors.
''And, of course, we get 70 players paying $10,000 to play. So we could not fund this without the pro-am format.
''I understand the traditionalists look at it and wonder. But as long as we preserve the New Zealand Open, and make sure the pro-am fits in, we won't hear many complaints.''
The Open will have full sanctioning on the Australasian Tour, and will have ''a relationship'' with the Japan Tour.
''Japan is the third biggest tour in the world. It's well funded, well run, and I think we're lucky to have been able to build this link.
''We provide 15 places in the field. And the leading non-Japan Tour player will get direct entries into three major tournaments on the Japan Tour. That's a huge carrot for our golfers.''
Hart believes the field will be a good mix of talented New Zealand, Australian and Japanese golfers, augmented by some well-known amateurs.
The tournament will not pay appearance money in the hope of landing a top-50 player, but he is hoping four or five of the top 200 players in the world will feel the pull of Queenstown.
Tom Watson has been mentioned as a target at some stage - the Open is committed to Queenstown for at least three years - following the visit last year of veteran star Hale Irwin.
''Celebrities'' will again consist of prominent sportspeople and television personalities. Hart would love to get Ian Botham back, and other names should be revealed soon.
Live television coverage is unlikely the first year, for budget reasons, but online streaming is being investigated.
Hart hopes for a combined crowd of 20,000 to 25,000 over the four days of the tournament.
Tickets go on sale on Friday: $19.99 a day for the Thursday-Friday, $29.99 a day for the Saturday-Sunday, or $54.99 for a four-day pass.
NZ Open
The facts
Venue: The Hills and Millbrook.
Dates: February 27-March 2.
Golfers: 132 professionals, 132 amateurs (minimum).
Prize money: $850,000 (minimum).
Format
• NZ Open held over 72 holes. First two rounds alternate between courses, final two rounds at The Hills.
• A concurrent pro-am will involve each professional paired with an amateur, playing two rounds in a best ball format.
• After two rounds, top 60 make the New Zealand Open cut, and top 30 teams make the pro-am cut.
• After the third round, an additional pro-am cut will be made with the leading 10 teams progressing to play in the final round.
