Twin Rivers Golf Course owner Richard Rutledge is commemorating his golf course’s rebirth after the disastrous January flood — one shave at a time.

Rutledge, owner of the 15-year-old Fall City course, pledged to shave his beard when the course is completely back to normal from the disastrous damage it suffered this winter.

All 18 holes opened for play recently, but the course is still the worse for wear. Course superintendent Mike Brann said Twin Rivers is about 60 percent back to normal.

The moustache is already gone, but Rutledge’s goatee is reprieved until the day when the course is pristine.

“When we get the golf course all overseeded and fertilized, and get it all back to growing again, then it’s going to come off, but not until then,” he said.

River’s power

From the course’s entrance on the first tee, Twin Rivers looks like any other golf course.

“You look at it from here, and you think, ‘there’s nothing wrong,’” Rutledge said.

But roam back to the 14th tee, or what’s left of it, and it’s clear that mother nature did Rutledge no favors.

Twin Rivers is located on a bend of the river, and during major floods, the Snoqualmie attempts to plow a new channel — straight through the golf course.

“Rivers meander. They go where they want to go,” Rutledge said. “Who are we to think we can hold that back?”

River’s power

During the flood, the force of the river threw thousands of cubic yards of gray, sandy silt onto the course, and sent uprooted trees, as well as boats, floating dumpsters, and other detritus onto the course. Huge logs scarred the fairways as the current drug them along, their roots gouging telltale trails hundreds of feet long.

When the water receded, the silt was several feet thick in places. Some visitors joked that the course resembled the surface of the moon.

“If I had told you that it was a golf course, you would have laughed at me,” Brann said.

Following the flood, Rutledge spent upwards of $200,000 removing silt and debris. Clearing the heavy silt off the putting greens by hand was backbreaking work.

With the coming of spring, green shoots of grass are poking through the gray ground.

Now, all that Rutledge needs is a few weeks of good weather to get his course back in shape.

Regular players were crucial in bringing it back to life. Members of the men’s club helped pick rock and debris off the course, and have been playing two rounds of nine holes instead of the customary 18.

“It’s amazing how fast the course has come back,” said Twin Rivers Men’s Club president Ralph Pryor. “That’s attributable to Richard and the grounds crew.”

Pryor said he enjoys the cameraderie and tranquility of the course — even though he admits that the river doesn’t always stay where it’s supposed to.

“It’s our course,” Pryor said. “It’s really important for us to be playing on it again.”