Blaine will be busy all week and into the weekend as they host the seventh annual 3M Open Golf Tournament as part of the PGA Tour.

Before the pros show up, hundreds of young golfers got to learn more about the game on Tuesday at TPC Twin Cities.

In one of several new simulations this year inside Fan Village on the tournament grounds, more than 500 Twin Cities kids got a chance to test their skills in one of the hardest parts of anyone's golf game: chip shots.

"They do a pretty good job of simulating what it's going to be like on a course, where you have a good hill, where it's going to be rolling back if you don't get it up on the right hill," said one of the young golfers on hand.

The kids also got to whack the ball as far as they can in a simulation of the actual 18th hole that the pros play on.

Ten-year-old Hope Mwangi just started learning golf a few months ago through First Tee Minnesota, and she's already hooked.

"I just feel like not a lot of people get the opportunity to like do this kind of stuff," she said. "It's kind of calming and you get like outdoors and you get to be with nature."

The kids also got a chance to improve their game among some big names, including Timberwolves star guard Mike Conley, former Wolves player Wally Szczerbiak and Vikings legend John Randle.

Torie Clarke, 3M's chief public affairs officer, says they hope kids can also learn while having fun.

"Golfers get up every morning going, 'OK, how can I hit the ball further? How can I hit it more accurately?' That's what the science of technology does, it plays a huge role," Clarke said.

But even more important than learning is giving. Just by purchasing a ticket, fans are donating dollars back into the community.

"Since 2019, $8.5 million given back to Minnesota charities," Clarke said.

The best part is once you're inside the tournament grounds, everything at Fan Village is free, so any age can come out and enjoy the simulations, take a view of the 18th green and have some fun.

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