The 40-year-old father of two carded an opening round of seven-under 64 including seven birdies and a sole bogey on The Remarkables course at Millbrook Resort on Thursday.
It left him a shot clear of countryman Ben Wharton and South Korean JungHyun Um with the afternoon starters still out on course.
Griffin's eight tournament victories as a professional include the 2016 NZ Open.
He started the 2023-24 Australasian Tour season thinking it would likely be his last as a full-time golfer.
A commanding victory at The Heritage tournament in Victoria in January - his first in eight years - was a welcome confidence boost.
Cracking start to the — PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) #NZOpen for @MattGriffinGolf � pic.twitter.com/amOTD5XPU7February 29, 2024
And were Griffin to convert his hot start into another win at the $NZ2 million ($A1.885 million) New Zealand Open, then a major change of plan may well be in order.
"I felt like I had been playing alright the last couple of years but I hadn't put the results on the board," he said.
"We've got another event in a couple of weeks at The National and after that I'll be looking after the kids at home for a few months during the year.
"But with the Asian Tour co-sanctioning (the NZ Open), if I can be at the right end of the leaderboard on Sunday you never know, it might be a bit more golf.
"... I've got two young kids and when you're travelling a lot it puts the pressure on.
"You want to make sure you are playing well and making enough money to make it worthwhile.
"If you're just breaking even or making a little bit, it's a bit hard to justify."
Midway through day one at Millbrook Resort, Australian Jarryd Felton was in a tie for fourth at five under with New Zealander Kieran Muir and Spaniard Carlos Pigem.
Last year's Order of Merit (OOM) winner David Micheluzzi and his fellow Australian and playing partner Brett Coletta were among a group tied for seventh at four under.
But this year's OOM pacesetter Kazuma Kobori from New Zealand has plenty of work to do if he is to make the halfway cut after opening with a scratchy one-over 72.
