Without pictures, we can only guess and my guess is the bluegrass. I say that because 20 percent is too much in a mix with tall fescue. It should be about 5 percent or this is what happens. Sorry your sod farm doesn't know that, but it isn't unusual for sod farms not to know things.

No, it is not possible for the whole lawn to look that way, at least not for several years when the bluegrass takes over. For a more uniform-looking lawn, the sod farm should have mixed varieties of fescue and bluegrass that are similar in appearance. Looks like that is something else they didn't know.

Tall fescue grows vertically in bunches and is a type that does not replace itself and cannot fill surrounding areas. It tillers many bunches, but they stay where they are in the ground. On the other hand, bluegrass has a complex root system that offers both vertical and horizontal growth. It spreads around the ground by its underground rhizomes to replace itself and fill in thin areas. It sounds like that's what happened with your grass. Another clue is there being so much clover, indicating the grass was not so dense or the clover would have no spots to grow into - or at least not so much of it this first year.

Mixing bluegrass and fescue has always been done but is somewhat archaic in practice for your area - another tidbit the sod farm didn't know. Can you tell I like saying that? In upstate New York, it just isn't necessary when you can easily achieve a healthy and beautiful lawn of either species. Mixing them is better suited for areas of high heat, where bluegrass is less likely as sustainable as tall fescue but is still added for the filling in affect.

If you want the whole lawn to look like that without the wait, you can always overseed in the fall with bluegrass. First, find out what bluegrass cultivar(s) was added to the fescue. If you had a contractor lay the sod for you, he likely will not know, but he can tell you the name of the sod farm he purchased from. Ask them. When you find out, let us know here what it was.

Based on your clover estimate, I am also guessing you might benefit from a good maintenance schedule. Scroll down this thread to find the schedule outlined in red. Pay particular attention to the paragraphs on watering and mowing.

Hope to hear soon on that bluegrass.

If so... is there any way to duplicate that exact ummm, formula, on the entire lawn?

Using an organic program for your feeding might help if that's what's causing it. The Organic Lawn Care forum has a lot of information on that. The quick and dirty way of doing it would be to use Milorganite instead of Scotts.

However, I think Bestlawn is correct and it's a TTTF/KBG mix issue instead. My first year, the contractor used seed that was obviously rye, TTTF, and KBG mixed. No amount of wheedling or cajoling could get them to tell me the KBG cultivars. They simply didn't have a clue (I pictured them buying ten tons of seed at Sam's Kut-Rate Seed Senter).

I had the same issue. The rye didn't flourish, the TTTF was typically patchier. The bluegrass was pretty nice. I was Not Happy--at maximum spread, the bluegrass would take about five years to fill the lawn in.

That fall, I borrowed a Mantis, used the aeration blades to slit-seed, and added a KBG mix. By the following spring, the grass was much better. This spring, the KBG is dominant and the lawn looks pretty nice. Except for a Poa trivialis issue, but that's another story.

Since I couldn't match the cultivars, the colors are slightly different but good feeding practices and plenty of iron have rendered that invisible unless you know exactly where to look.

I saw a program on tv about those crop circles. They had some scientists showing various rings that form in grass.
A few of them they showed looked like what you described, and i have in my lawn also, which were'nt there last year or the year before. They were saying dark green grass rings or circles (filled in) were caused by different types of fungus growing in the ground. Some fungus must be good cause it sure looks beautiful!
Tonia

Thanks all for your responses. Bestlawn, I didn't state how the grass was put in but it was seeded, not sod. Also, the 20% Bluegrass was actually 15%. So I'm wondering about your thinking now knowing it was all seeded. The Bluegrass seed is called 'Thermal Blue'. Seed company 2 years ago claimed it was a new seed, very resiliant. If the great looking, healthy green patches are in fact the Bluegrass, should I be overseeding in the future with 100% of the same Thermal Blue Bluegrass? I'm still wondering why it took so well in such a random, spotty way? We have a deer problem up here, so I'm going to monitor the droppings areas to see if in fact it could be causing the 'great' looking spots.

15% by weight actually yields about 50/50% actual coverage. At least it should. Thermal blue is a hybrid ... KBG x Texas bluegrass. It was supposed to give people in the northern south something else to plant better adapted to transition climate. Often times Bluegrass is mixed tall fescue blends to form a sod and/or offer bare spot repair to some degree. Why not just do 100% bluegrass? I have no idea. Personally I think bluegrass is tougher and more vigorous.

By "put in" I thought it was laid. Sorry about that. The ratio sounds right for Thermal Blue, but I'm still thinking it is the bluegrass you observe. One reason is Thermal Blue is very aggressive. Another reason is I don't know how a roughly 24" x 24" area is fertilized by droppings there unless the droppings were somehow mixed into the soil either by water (rain or irrigation) or manually mixing it in. I agree it is somewhat strange, being rather patchy or checkerboard but if I'm right, it won't last long and will even out over the next few weeks or at least grow larger.