Course Closure Assessment
Making data-backed open, restricted, or closed decisions with weather and field condition scoring
The Course Closure Assessment tool helps you decide whether to keep the course open, restrict play, or close entirely. Instead of a gut feeling, it combines weather data and field observations into a scored recommendation you can save and share as a PDF.
Course Closure Assessment
This article refers to a live TurfWise screen. Media is omitted here so the written steps stay current across releases.
When would you use this?
- First thing in the morning when conditions are borderline (frost, heavy rain, waterlogging)
- After overnight rainfall when you need to decide before members arrive
- When the committee asks why the course was closed on a specific date
- To build a year-on-year record of closure days for capital project justification (drainage, for example)
- When you need to reassess mid-day because conditions have changed
What happens when you use it
You enter weather data and field observations, then click Compute Closure Index. The tool calculates a score and gives a clear recommendation: Open, Restricted, or Closed.
Once computed, you can save the assessment to create a permanent record. After saving, you can download a PDF report to share with the club secretary, committee, or general manager.
All saved assessments appear in the History page, building a year-on-year record of closure decisions.
How to use this page
Select the area scope
Choose which part of the course you're assessing:
- Full Course
- Front 9
- Back 9
- Greens Only
- Fairways Only
- Practice Areas
You can also enter the expected number of players for the day. This adds traffic pressure to the calculation, which matters when surface wear is a concern.
Enter weather conditions
Fill in the Weather Panel with current or recent values:
- 7-day cumulative rainfall (mm) -- how much rain in the last week
- 24-hour forecast rainfall (mm) -- expected rain today
- Air temperature (C) -- current air temp
- Sub-surface temperature (C) -- if available
- Wind speed (km/h) -- current wind
- ET0 (mm) -- evapotranspiration, if known
Use measured values where you have them. Forecasts are acceptable for near-term decisions.
Set field conditions
Use the Field Sliders to score what you're seeing on the ground:
- Surface softness (0-10) -- how soft the playing surface is underfoot
- Standing water (0-10) -- visible standing water on the course
- Frost depth (mm) -- depth of frost penetration, if present
- Access risk (0-10) -- safety risk for players accessing the course
These are your professional observations. Be consistent in how you score -- the same conditions should get the same score each time, so your history remains comparable.
Compute the Closure Index
Click Compute Closure Index. The tool combines your weather and field inputs into a single score and gives a recommendation: Open, Restricted, or Closed.
The Score Breakdown panel shows exactly how each factor contributed to the final score. This is what you'd explain to a committee member who asks "why was the course closed?"
Add notes and save
Use the notes field to record anything the numbers can't capture -- for example, "Bunkers flooded on holes 4 and 7" or "Frost clearing by 10am."
Click Save Assessment to store the record. Once saved, click Download PDF Report to get a shareable document.
Save before sharing
You must click Save Assessment before you can download the PDF. The download button only appears after a successful save.
Viewing past assessments
Click View History at the top of the page (or go to /course-closure/history) to see all past assessments. Each entry shows the date, area scope, closure index score, and recommendation.
You can download the PDF report for any past assessment directly from the history list.
Why history matters
Course closure records are one of the most-requested items in committee packs. Having accurate, data-backed records means you can show exactly how many days were affected, why, and make the case for improvements like drainage projects or winter capital works.
How to keep scoring consistent
The history is only useful if your scoring approach stays consistent. Different people scoring the same conditions differently makes comparisons meaningless.
- Use the same observer method where possible. If one person always does the morning assessment, the scores stay comparable.
- Score similar conditions in a similar way. If "slightly soft after overnight rain" was a 4 last week, it should be a 4 this week too.
- Note exceptional factors in the comments. If conditions are unusual (e.g. burst pipe flooding one area), explain it so the score makes sense in context.
- Reassess later in the day if conditions change materially. A morning frost assessment may not reflect 11am conditions.
Common problems and fixes
- "I computed the index but can't download the PDF" -- You need to click Save Assessment first. The PDF download only becomes available after saving.
- "The recommendation seems wrong" -- Check your field slider values. A surface softness of 8 with no standing water and low rainfall is unusual -- make sure the sliders reflect what you actually observed.
- "I shared the recommendation before saving" -- Without saving, there's no permanent record. Go back, re-enter the values, compute again, and save this time.
- "The history page is empty" -- Assessments only appear in history after being saved. If you computed but didn't save, there's no record.
Good habits that prevent issues later
- Always save before sharing. If you call the pro shop to say "course is restricted" but don't save the assessment, you've got no evidence if the committee asks later.
- Add notes every time. The numbers alone don't tell the full story. "Frost depth 15mm but clearing fast, expected playable by 10am" is the kind of context that makes a record genuinely useful.
- Be honest with the field sliders. Overestimating softness to justify a closure will show up as inconsistent when you compare against historical averages.
- Run the assessment again if conditions change significantly during the day. An early morning closure may not be warranted by lunchtime.
Where this fits in TurfWise
Course closure data feeds into:
- Committee Reports -- closure day counts and reasons are commonly included in committee packs
- History records -- builds year-on-year comparison for capital project justification
- Weekly Reports -- closure decisions during the week are relevant context for your weekly summary
Where to find it
Open Course > Course Closure from the main navigation, or go directly to /course-closure.