If compaction is the problem, you can use Nitron to loosen the soil so water penetrates better. This is easier than using machinery, taking your physical condition into consideration.

If the areas are just ruts in the soil that mower wheels may have caused, you can use a pitch fork or shovel. Push it 3-4-5 inches into the soil, and gently move it back and forth. You don't want to break up the earth, just loosen the soil in that spot. Do this along the compaction line as far as it goes. You'll know you have ruts if you streams of runoff down the sidewalk when you water the lawn.

Your grass only needs 1 inch of water per week. Normally, you would provide that 1 inch only once a week in one watering session. During times of heatwave and no precipitation, divide that 1 inch by two and irrigate half an inch twice a week. I can't be sure compaction is your problem since it could be that you're watering too much. To measure 1 inch of water, place tuna cans in various spots within your sprinkler's reach and turn it on. Time how long it takes the sprinkler to get 1 inch of water in the tuna cans. That's how long you want to irrigate once a week. If you break irrigation in half to relieve heat/drought stress, then water half that amount of time to provide half an inch twice a week. Example: if it takes the sprinkler an hour to fill the cans with 1 inch of water, then irrigate half an hour twice a week. Hope I explained that well.

Duke, a couple of things occur to me, that may or may not apply to your situation.

The first is fertilization: you should consider adding an application of Milorganite. It won't burn the lawn in summer heat, and will add both nitrogen and iron.

The second is mower height: mow your lawn higher. That will allow the roots to run deeper, which, of course, penetrates the soil deeper. You'll see the benefits immediately. I like to quote as scientific fact (and others like to quibble with it) that one-inch tall grass has one inch deep roots, two-inch tall grass has two inch deep roots, and three inch tall grass has three inch deep roots. Now which one is going to do better in the heat of an Ohio summer?

The third thought is poa annua, also called annual bluegrass. A lot of people have it, but don't know they have it. But if your grass starts out like gangbusters, and develops a lot of seed heads, and then thins out and dies, leaving bare spots and a thin, raggedy lawn, and you're asking "What went wrong? It looked so good a month ago?" ....you've got poa annua. Do a search here on Garden web, and on Google, and you'll find a lot of articles about this pest of a grass.

hello all & thank you for the great response - i always mow to the highest setting on my mower - i have no mower ruts that i can feel or see - i pulled up a part of the soil & the underlying topsoil is very dark * seems abit moist so i think i am getting adaquete water - the last response it seems is exactly what i have going on - wow - some people here just amaze me w/ what they know!! - i will check into the kbg that was mentioned here - the sod is still looking abit wilted & we are expecting 90+ this week here in northeast ohio - i almost cried friday night when i had to mow!! - thank you again & best to all