After the Flood, More Gloomy Predictions Surface : Storm damage: Balboa, Encino golf courses face lengthy closures after rains bring an accumulation of mud and silt.

There won’t be any traditional birdies on the Balboa or Encino golf courses for a couple of weeks--and likely months, according to city officials. There will, however, be plenty of ducks. And bulldozers.

The ravaging, weeklong storms have deposited hundreds of thousands of gallons of water on the two city-operated public courses, which are among the busiest in the nation. The storms also covered many of the greens, fairways and tees with several inches of mud and silt. It is, city officials say, the worst flooding the courses have experienced. Balboa was opened in 1954 and the Encino course opened in 1957.

The total damage estimate for the courses was put at more than $500,000 on Thursday.

When Monday’s overwhelming rains came, the Los Angeles River quickly filled and overflowed, sending a deluge rolling over the two courses, which abut the river on its south side. Water more than 20 feet deep swept over parts of the courses, according to Steve Ball, golf director for the Valley region of the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department.

“When the water came on Monday, it was an eerie experience,” said Ball, who watched helplessly as the river crested its concrete banks. “It just came boiling over the top of the river and down onto the courses. It had an incredible force. And it all happened so quickly.”

After assessing the damage Tuesday, Ball organized a preliminary cleanup crew and sent the force into action early Wednesday. But at 10 a.m., the rains returned and the Los Angeles River again crested its bank, sending workers racing to safety.

“It got dangerous out there on Wednesday,” Ball said. “The workers were in a very dangerous position.”

No injuries were reported.

More than 107,000 rounds of golf were played on the Encino course in 1991 and 92,000 were played on the Balboa course. Only Woodley Lakes Golf Course and Hansen Dam Golf Course were played more often among Valley courses last year.

Woodley, despite being adjacent to the Balboa and Encino courses, received far less damage. Situated on the north side of the Los Angeles River, the course received only small amounts of spillage. The damage that did occur, including silt on three holes and a 1,000-foot fence that was washed away, was caused mostly by rain that fell on the course. Ball said Woodley would be closed for about two weeks, barring further damage from a predicted weekend storm.

The Hansen Dam Golf Course in Pacoima, another heavily played, city-operated course, was not damaged at all, according to Ball. He said the course would reopen as soon as the turf dries.

But at Balboa and Encino, the damage will take months to repair.

“At Encino, the problem is mostly the mud and silt,” Ball said. “It covers at least six fairways, tees and greens right now, and portions of other holes. In most places, the silt is six to 10 inches deep, and it absolutely suffocates the grass.

“The lack of oxygen will kill the greens in just two days. And replacing greens is a very long and expensive project.”

Hoping to use the brief window of fair weather that was forecast for Thursday, Ball organized a crew of nearly 60 workers at daybreak to begin the cleanup. Bulldozers and graders and skip-loaders worked to clear some of the mud.

“At least nine holes at Encino will be closed for two or three months, maybe longer,” Ball said. “Where the silt is, they do not even look like golf courses anymore.”

At Balboa, the heaviest damage came from the tons of debris left by the raging floodwaters. Uprooted trees, along with branches and other items, covered as much as 85% of the course, Ball said.

“If we get no more rain, Balboa could reopen in two or three weeks,” he said. “But heavy rain this weekend would push that date way back. We could be looking at a month or more of closure there.”

The damage to the courses was far greater than from any previous storm.

“I was here for the heavy rains of 1982, and we got quite a bit of damage,” Ball said. “But it was nothing like this. This has never happened before. In 1982, it was just a one-day, one-storm flood, and the courses were closed for three months. This is greater damage than that. The estimate of $500,000 in damages may be very, very conservative. It could easily cost twice that much to repair these courses.”

The money will come from the city’s general fund. Ball said each of the two courses generated more than $1 million in revenues for the city last year.