olfers are a jumpy bunch.Out on the lush expanses of Firestone Country Club, noises that nobody would even notice in other settings become the equivalent of sonic booms.So it’s no surprise that, until now, spectactors at the big annual tournament have been screened almost as closely for cell phones as for weapons.It’s a new day. In the summer of 2011, a remarkable 83 percent of American adults own cell phones, and an even more remarkable 42 percent of those phones are “smart,” able to access the Internet and do all sorts of other electronic tricks.Because most of the folks toting smart phones can’t seem to be separated from their devices for longer than it takes to play a short par-3, the people who run the PGA Tour have adjusted.As of this year, spectators at the Bridgestone Invitational may carry phones on the course as long as the ringers are set to silent.You can make and receive calls only in designated places (mostly concession and hospitality areas), but even out on the course you can exchange text messages and access the Internet as long as you’re a reasonable distance from the action.In fact, officials are not just permitting cell-phone use but encouraging it. They are boasting about a “Bridgestone Invitational Social Media Zone,” set up in a courtyard near the 13th green, where non-Luddites can hang out and compete via their phones for ticket upgrades, daily specials and assorted prizes.Given professional golfers’ hatred of all pre-shot noise beyond chirping birds and droning blimps, allowing phones is a sea change.Gosh, do you think this might have anything to do with the fact that AT&T is a major PGA Tour sponsor?Justin Rose does. But the 31-year-old Englishman, who qualified for Firestone by virtue of his rank as the 33rd best golfer on the planet, thinks that’s entirely reasonable.“You’ve got companies investing a lot of money in golf, like AT&T, and to have a no-phone policy doesn’t make any sense,” he told me.“At the end of the day, it’s a mobile world. All of us are on Twitter and doing these sorts of things.“Being connected to the world is kind of important. You can’t expect guys to take a day out of the office to come out Thursday and Friday and be totally shut off from their business.”Rose says he has never blown a shot because of a ringing phone, but concedes that phones in the gallery can be a “minor” ongoing distraction. “It’s something as players we’ve got to get used to.”U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy actually likes the move. He thinks “it’s a good thing” because “it can encourage more people to come.”Most of the pros I talked to Wednesday were less enthusiastic. They view it as a fact of life but don’t seem particularly thrilled.Tour veteran Stewart Cink offered an interesting wrinkle. He says he has actually encountered fewer problems with cell phones this year than when they were illegal.“People were bringing phones anyway, and the ones who were sneaking the phones in were the ones who wouldn’t obey the rules,” he said during a pause on the practice tee.Cink said only once or twice during his career has a ringing phone messed up one of his shots, “and certainly not this year.”“There’s still the occasional camera phone being used when they’re not supposed to, but people have control over the noises on their phones, so it’s not bothering us.”Which brings up a good point: You still can’t shoot photos or video during tournament play (today through Sunday). And if you’re caught trying to snap a quick photo at the wrong time and place, you’ll likely get tossed faster than a vagrant at the Ritz.South African Ernie Els believes the policy change is feasible now only because regular folks have become much more knowledgeable about how their phones work.“They know to put it on silent or vibrate or whatever,” he said while signing autographs near the first tee. “They’ve been very well-behaved with it. It’s an adult thing to do, let’s put it that way. It’s a way of life and we’ll all live with it.“So it’s fine.”From time to time, though, it’s not so fine.Just last week, at the Greenbrier Classic in North Carolina, Hunter Mahan was near a spectator who answered his phone during the middle of a round and began to gab away. Noticing the withering looks being directed his way, the man said: “Oh, it’s an important call. Sorry.”Mahan could only shake his head.“We don’t care if people run away and talk on the phone or whatever,” he said Wednesday during a news conference, “[but] just help us out and don’t stand on the rope and start talking and kind of look at us like we’re confused why you’re looking at us.”Couldn’t have put it better myself.Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com.