The Mulligans South course in South Jordan has several junior golf clinics at various times from week to week. Not only do kids get range balls, pamphlets, a hat and green fees for their $100 fee, they also get a computer analysis of their swing and classes of less than five. Mulligans also offers a junior golf league with eight tournaments in various formats.

While the majority of the junior golfers are located in the Salt Lake Valley, junior programs dot the state and are mostly run by individual golf courses.

For instance, East Bay in Provo has junior golf clinics, run by the Provo Parks and Recreation, as well as junior golf leagues every Monday.

In Davis County, the Lakeside Golf Course in West Bountiful runs a junior tournament every Thursday for 10 weeks during the summer, where kids get a bag tag, a hat and a towel with a tournament at the end of the year. It also has camps and clinics during the summer.

Down in Delta, which has produced several top junior golfers in recent years, pro Kent Abegglen runs a three-day camp at the Sunset View Golf Course every month for three hours per day. The cost? Just $25.

One of the newest innovations in local junior golf is the creation of the Pepsi Junior Tour that has been organized by Salt Lake City and County golf courses.

Mountain Dell pro Mike Brimley along with Mick Riley's Meyer were two of the catalysts behind the new tournament series, which features nine tournaments in its inaugural season, all on Salt Lake City or County courses. The entry fees are low and include green fees, lunch, tee gift and awards.

Meyer is candid in talking about the reason for helping launch the new junior tournament circuit.

"We didn't like the direction the (UJGA) program was going," he said. "It's been good for the higher-end player and they've done a good job of developing good players, but we wanted something for the average player. We want players to come and have fun whether they shoot 72 or 110."

Meyer said he isn't trying to run the UJGA out of business and knows there's a lot of crossover, with kids playing both the UJGA schedule along with the new Pepsi Tour. Even Meyer's own 13-year-old son is playing both circuits.

Watts, who is a trustee on the UJGA Board of Directors, says the UJGA does a great job developing junior golfers but adds, "the city and county are doing a marvelous job with junior golf."

"The most important thing now is to grow the game," said Meyer. We're just trying to grow the game with our program."

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