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By Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator

Couch potatoes, beware.

With expanded television coverage, it's easier than ever to catch THE PLAYERS Championship on the GOLF CHANNEL or NBC. And PGATOUR.com has live online coverage from No. 17 for 35 hours throughout all four rounds.

But that old "golf is only easy to follow on TV" excuse is being chipped away now that technology at PGA TOUR events is accounting for the "roar factor" and is making it easy to get clued-in while at the course.

Jim Furyk hits towards a freshly-installed scoreboard at the 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass. (WireImage)

What's that, you wonder? At golf tournaments, one of the most frustrating things is hearing that huge crowd exclamation in the distance, probably over a chip-in eagle or maybe even a hole-in-one, and having no clue what just happened. Fans at THE PLAYERS Championship, however, can be clued in regardless of where they are on the course.

Thanks to 22 brand-new scoreboards debuting at THE PLAYERS, plus five larger LED video boards in three spots on the course, if something exciting happens then fans throughout the course can tune in to the screens to catch a "moments ago" highlight plus updated scores and stats.

The new 20-foot wide Mitsubishi Electronic scoreboards are -- pun intended -- light years ahead of the old Glow Cubes that used only yellow lights to display scores and pictures.

The new boards use LED technology, so up-close the board appears to be made up of squares of light consisting of the primary colors red, green and blue, but from afar shows up in all colors and are television-like in their quality.

Speaking of far away, no matter how bright the Florida sun beats down, the boards are still visible without an eye-straining glare. That means that fans can now view images, scores, ShotLink statistics and video clips on the scoreboards, which will be phased in throughout the year at PGA TOUR events with 11 at each tournament.

"We're trying new content. Before we could only show one-color, yellow cubes out of pixels. They were very functional," explained Steve Evans, Senior Vice President of Information Systems for the PGA TOUR. "But now we can show video clips, highlights, like content you'd find in stadiums."

The 22 new scoreboards aren't to be confused with the five gigantic video boards found in three locations at THE PLAYERS: two on the famed 17th hole with highlights and replays for fans not close enough to see facial expressions on the tee or where a shot landed on the green; one on the first hole to display introductory stats and content; and two, including a "monster board", near the 18th green.

"We are competing for entertainment time so we want to give (fans) everything to have a good time," said Evans. "In our sport it is impossible to see everything. We are bringing it in ways so that it is easy to consume video, audio and handheld."

So video we've covered, but what about audio out at the course? That's definitely a no-no at a golf venue, right? Leave it to the technology guys to find a way to do it, as fans can rent XM radios with headphones and listen to a special on-course channel for live tournament coverage.

The video board on the 18th hole will also show TV coverage on Sunday, so fans with XM radios can sit at the course and watch live golf as well as the tournament television coverage complete with sound.

The handheld aspect is something Evans says the TOUR is encouraging thanks to a new development by myLEADERBOARD. For the more mobile course visitor, they have handheld devices that can be used throughout the grounds.

These Palm Pilot-like units were the brainchild of John Geary and Tim Dilworth, who attended the 2003 Masters and left with the idea for a unit that provides up-to-date information at the course.

The hand-helds eliminate so many issues a spectator usually faces. Want to follow your favorite players? The device lets you set up a personal leaderboard and gives their location at that moment, plus how they are faring for the day.

Sitting at the 17th and need a beverage refill? Use the device to find the nearest concession stand or restroom. Wondering if sub-tropical storm Andrea is going to spit out any more rain? There's even a weather update on myLEADERBOARD.

Scoreboard behind the 17th tee at Sawgrass. (WireImage)

And what exactly caused that huge exclamation from the crowd in the distance, the "roar factor"? If you're not within site of a scoreboard, there's still a way to figure it out immediately.

"If you hear a roar off in the distance, you don't know what it is. Sometimes you never know what it is until you get home and turn on the TV," said Adrian Ornik, Chief Marketing Officer for myLEADERBOARD. "You can now look and see that Tiger eagled from the left bunker on the third green. That comes in a screen crawl across the top."

Ornik said 1500 devices will be available for fans visiting THE PLAYERS, as well as several other PGA TOUR events throughout the year, from between $20 to $25. Companies can also use them for their special guests, complete with a specialized news feed to alert their customers and employees for corporate hospitality happenings.

And don't worry about not being able to figure it out, since the navigation is basic. If all else fails, with just one click of the golf tee stylus it's easy to get back to the main menu. "Obviously people who skew slightly younger in the demographic find it easier to use but it's very intuitive," said Ornik. "The likelihood of breaking it is slim to none. You just won't get out of the program."

Both the scoreboards and myLEADERBOARD benefit from ShotLink data, which is gathered by volunteers on the course who use lasers to pinpoint with precision the distance of each shot.

For the first time, ShotLink will be used during a practice round at THE PLAYERS as well and from Thursday through Sunday the data will be fed through a wireless network to the mobile devices.

For those not able to make it to the course, there's always LIVE@ THE PLAYERS, back again on PGATOUR.com with each shot from the famous 17th hole with the island green, plus post-round interviews from a camera behind the 18th green.

The live online video stream will provide coverage in addition to that on television, though there's expanded television coverage as well with 22 hours of live golf this year with the GOLF CHANNEL on Thursday and Friday and NBC on Saturday and Sunday.

With all the upgrades at THE PLAYERS this year, on the course and at the clubhouse, the technology improvements are just one extra facet. But, for fans at the tournament or at home, it's now even easier to catch more of the world's best golfers.