I have just opened my pool for the 3rd time, and while the water isn't crystal clear, its just a bit dirty, I can still see the bottom clearly, and within a couple of hours of the bleach dump, and throwing my barracuda in... it's perfect. A day or 2 of adjusting this and that with my store bought chems... and I flip on my SWC and I am ready to go...
I think one thing I learned on this forum was to close late and open early. I don't close my pool until mid Nov (Balto MD area) and I open in mid april. As I am closing in NOV... I keep walking the pool making sure there isn't a speck of crap in the water before the mesh cover goes on.... sure some stuff will manage to make it through, but no big chunks. The idea at this point is the water has cooled down enough, along with the air to not let things fester.
THis year I am helping a friend switch to a SWC, since they literally spend a thousand bucks on chems per season. They tell me when they open their pool it's always a green mess... I am afraid of the challenge... but they never open before Mothers day, and they close in early SEPT... and I think that is their problem.