Golf Australia boss Stephen Pitt knows it's impossible to compete with the Tiger Woods phenomenon which swept the country last week.
So instead of trying to out-do Tigermania, Pitt simply hopes the sport can ''ride the Tiger wave'' for the next few years starting with the Australian Open next month.
World No1 Woods's win at the Australian Masters in Melbourne rocketed Australian golf to new heights, with record crowds travelling to Kingston Heath.
Pitt mingled with spectators and believed Australian golf was on the verge of boom popularity.
''It was fantastic, a great atmosphere, really exciting and good for golf,'' he said of Woods's first visit to Australia in 11 years. ''We definitely try to ride the Tiger wave, we don't consider ourselves in competition with other Australian tournaments like the Masters ... We run the Australian Open to promote golf and get more people playing golf.
''We're very confident we'll have a big event ... Tiger's unique but we're not in competition and we just hope that maybe people that saw a tournament for the first time understand what a great atmosphere it is and it doesn't revolve around one player.''
The Australian Open will be played at the NSW Golf Club in Sydney from December 3-6. Greg Norman was forced to withdraw, but organisers hope popular American Fred Couples and a strong Australian contingent will attract large crowds.
Initial estimates that Woods paid $3 million in appearance money to play at the Masters would inject $19million into the economy were revised to $35 million on the weekend as he won a two-shot victory.
Crowds of more than 20,000 flocked to the Masters each day.
Pitt conceded the Open would not be able to match those figures, but hoped to lure new golf lovers to the course. ''We always knew there would be a fair deal of attention on golf but probably we didn't fully realise how hysterical it would become,'' Pitt said. ''We've got the Presidents Cup back in Australia in 2011 and our major tournaments look to be rejuvenated.
''We've got the Australian Women's Open and ANZ Ladies Masters in March looking in great shape and with fantastic fields.
''For us, it's about keeping the momentum going and getting more people to play golf.''
Canberra golfers Matt Millar and Andrew McKenzie will line up in the Open while Royal Canberra pair Damon Welsford and Allan Haughie will enter the prequalifying tournament. Millar played at the Masters, but his encounters with Woods were limited to hearing the crowd roar as he finished tied for 44th.
The 33-year-old said the true impact of Tigermania would not be known until the Open had finished. They're not going to get the crowds like they did at the Masters, but supporters need to get out while the Tigermania is still fresh,'' he said.
''There is still a lot of quality in the field, Australian blokes that have been burning it up and you hope that Australian golf gets a bit of revival.
''Golf [in Australia] had definitely dropped off when Greg Norman reduced his playing schedule ... it's still not at it's prime but last week was phenomenal.''
Fifty-year-old Couples joins fellow Americans John Daly, Steve Marino, Kevin Stadler and Bryce Molder in the Open. High-profile Australian stars Geoff Ogilvy, Adam Scott, James Nitties, Greg Chalmers, Aaron Baddeley, Stuart Appleby, Michael Sim, Marc Leishman and Mathew Goggin will also play. with AAP
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