Kings River Golf and Country Club recovers after flooding

KINGSBURG, Calif. (KFSN) -- Life on the links is just about back to normal for golfers teeing it up at the Kings River Golf and Country Club in Kingsburg after a recent flood forced the course to shut down for 12 straight days.

"We've got over 10,000 sandbags on this hole alone and over 110,000 sandbags on the course and surrounding homes," club president Steve Safarjanian said.

Two weeks ago, 14 holes were submerged after water released from Pine Flat Dam flooded much of the course which sits along the Kings River.

You can still see how high the water came to one shed where the carts are parked. By Friday, most of the fairways and nearby homes had dried out - except for the 18th hole where multiple pumps are still working day and night to get the water out following a massive breach.

"We're also trying to figure out our expenses, satellite irrigation systems that are down," Safarjanian said. "We've got pump rentals. We've got extra labor, and we're trying to put a number on that soon."

The Kings River continues to flow near capacity, but Pine Flat Dam has since stabilized and experts are predicting a summer without anymore high flood releases

"The reservoir continues to decline, it's still pretty full, 98 percent full, but that is considered to be manageable now because the river seems to be under control," Randy McFarland with the Kings River Water Association explained.