NORTON, Mass. – At first glance, an event such as the PGA Tour’s Deutsche Bank Championship at the Tournament Players Club of Boston might look like all fun and games.

It is. But golf is not the only game for the spectators.

Second only to the golf is a game called hide-and-seek.

Many people have their favorite golfers, and they want to watch them play, get as close as possible to them, or even get an autograph.

Depending on the player, that can range from very easy to extremely difficult. There are three areas where the players can be seen: on the course during a round, on the driving range, and on the putting green. While the players are in these three areas – which are all part of their work space – they cannot be approached.

Saturday, throngs of people several rows deep along the gallery ropes and even standing on nearby high ground watched crowd favorite Tiger Woods hit balls on the driving range before his round.

One young man in about the third row didn’t want to leave with his buddies.

“I want to watch him hit the driver,” he said. “You’re never gonna get close enough on the course to see it.”

He was promptly rewarded when Woods pulled out his driver and started nailing balls far down the range.

But the spectator was wrong in one regard. If they wanted to, they could get close enough to watch him tee off. The crowds were not so concentrated on Tiger that following him became an unpleasant occasion.

Fans had other favorites as well, many with much smaller galleries that allowed close-up views.

Dan Sargent of Ellsworth came to see his friend, Sugarloaf Golf Club teaching pro Mike Baker, play, but Baker wasn’t the only player he sought out.

“I came to watch David Duval,” he said Friday.

Others sought out big hitter John Daly, smooth Vijay Singh, or newcomers such as Aaron Baddeley and Charles Howell III.

The putting green is another good place to get up close – close being a relative term as there is a fence that surrounds the green about 10 feet from the putting surface.

It was a zoo there on Thursday, pro-am day, as players and caddies converged there, as many as 40 at a time putting, talking to each other, or even talking on cell phones.

The biggest zoo, though, is by the scoring trailers after the ninth and 18th holes. Metal barricades keep an area clear for the players and caddies, but after their rounds, this is the best place to get autographs.

After the players turn in their cards, they are besieged by requests – from children and adults – to sign hats, shirts, golf balls, programs, pairing sheets, almost anything available.

Some, such as Woods, do it quickly and keep moving, while others such as 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk and Rhode Island pro Brad Faxon will sign for many minutes. Even Fairfield native Michael “Fluff” Cowan, Furyk’s caddie, received a flurry of autograph requests, many of which he granted as well.

The best times to get autographs may be the first three days – two days of practice rounds plus the pro-am – because the crowds are much smaller. The only drawback is that players’ practice round times are not announced and not everyone can participate in the pro-am.

Plus cameras are allowed those first three days, if used with care.

Out on the course, spectators can stay at one hole throughout the day, follow a particular group around, or a combination of the two. Just pay attention to the marshals and follow the rules.

One person who was following Baker around on Friday was John Mazzocca of Walpole. He caddied for Baker when Baker won the New England PGA qualifier to get into the tournament.

He watched Baker’s playing partner, Marcel Siem of Germany, make a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 464-yard sixth hole. Siem’s troubles included hitting his second shot into the edge of the water hazard just short of the green, trying to play the ball out and hitting it into a worse place instead, dropping behind the water, hitting the next shot over the green, chipping on, and two-putting.

“Those are the things you never see on TV,” he said.

Anyone who has taken young children somewhere, especially to a sporting event, finds that it’s difficult to hold their attention on one thing for an entire day.

Part of the tournament experience includes other activities, some geared to children, which take place.

There was a putting contest for the kids, another booth analyzed golf swings, and Buick sponsored a trailer which they used to promote their vehicles but also gave people a free photo of themselves superimposed onto one of three shots of Tiger Woods.

Food is another aspect that can’t be ignored, especially if you’re trying to get your money’s worth by staying all day. Eating can be expensive, however, so be prepared.

A 20-ounce bottled water was $2.50, 20-ounce sodas were $3.50, a hot dog was $3.75, and prices only went up from there. On the other hand, they could look like relative bargains compared to other events. One news outlet reported that a roast beef and provolone sandwich at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York was $18.50.

If it sounds like fun, the bad news is that’s too late to go this year. The good news is that Deutsche Bank and the PGA Tour signed an agreement to bring the tournament back to the TPC of Boston for two more years, through 2006.

Woods, one of the people responsible for bringing Deutsche Bank in as a sponsor, is happy about the agreement.

“I think we should stay and build a home here,” he said.

A few words of “Fluff”

Michael “Fluff” Cowan, who first earned national recognition as a caddie for Tiger Woods, is now working hard for Jim Furyk.

“A lot of people have said it must feel good to come home,” he said. “It’s nice to be in New England, but it’s still a long way from home.”

Cowan, 56, has no plans to stop caddying.

“This is no different than anything else. It’s what I do,” he said. “Nothing keeps me going; I just keep going.”

Cowan had to look for other caddie jobs earlier this year as Furyk recovered from torn cartilage in his wrist and had to sit out for several months.

“I worked for a lot of different people,” said Cowan. “I managed to line up jobs every time I wanted to… well, almost every time.”

A surprise call came before the Masters in April.

“Brad Faxon called me out of the blue. His caddie’s wife had just had a baby and so he went home,” Cowan said. “Faxon needed a caddie and I was the lucky one.”

Speaking of Augusta, does Cowan have any favorite courses?

“Yeah,” he said, “but I’m not going to tell you which ones they are.”