BLAINE, Minn. - If you look closely at the crowds during this year's 3M Championships at TPC in Blaine, you'll notice something never seen at a PGA golf tournament.
"I just got a make sure it's on silent," laughs Sean Spooner of St. Paul.
Yup, that's right. Fans can bring their phones to this year's event. It's actually the first time spectators at a PGA event are allowed to bring their mobile devices.
"Normally we check them at the gate," said tournament director Hollis Cavner. "But we actually encourage it this year."
Cavner says in the "always connected" world we live, people need to be able to check email, texts, and to stay plugged in to social media.
It's the main reason why tournament officials are going a step further.
"We've developed an app for the fan," says Nathan Eide with Gage Marketing. "We have 50 volunteers on the course updating the app with all sorts of information."
It should come in handy to the hi-tech fan. Often times, golf spectators have very little information about what's happening around the course.
"You're sitting on hole 14 and you hear a roar behind you, but what happened?" Eide explains. "Now you pull out your phone and there's already activity on the news feed telling you that Lehman just eagled hole 16."
The app also includes player profiles, real time pictures and stats, and free giveaways.
"We want to be where the customer is and that's with a mobile app," says Eide.
If all goes well in Blaine, smartphones on the course will become the new norm. So will, interactive apps to help the crowds that pour on to the course.