Thank you MQuinn. I imagine you are right about the type then. The yard is terribly uneven and that is one if the things we (probably *I*) need to address. With 3/4 of an acre there is no way will the hubs use anything but his riding mower, but I did inform him after the initial advice from the responses that he should be mowing lower to let light get to it, as opposed to what we previously were doing). I am trying to get him to understand that more perrenial beds means less mowing and kess work for him. That battle wages on. I can probably get away with mowing our front lawn with a push mower, but the rest is just too big and he will need (and want) to use the riding mower. After I get those tests completed I will know if I should add compost, wait then add sand or just go straight for the sand. I am betting it could use some compost first, but I could be very wrong about that. We can lower the mower and I can ask him to mow more slowly so that he can adjust the height as needed to accommodate for the high spots. Not for all of them, I know that, but the bigger areas. Or with Bermuda, can he scalp it to help level it? I am guessing that would be -you know what -on the mower blades. It's new, so they are still steadfastly in love with one-another.

It is important to know where you live. Is shade an factor in the thin spots? How many hours per day does the thin area get direct, unfiltered sunlight? Chances are about 9:1 that you do not have clay soil. I believe you that it is hard, but it seldom works out that anyone has true clay. You can aerate it every day and that won't fix the problem. The problem that causes hard soil is the underpopulation of beneficial microbes in the soil. It is the beneficial fungi that soften the soil and develop structure. By far the easiest way to reestablish the microbes is to get water deep down into the soil. And by far the easiest way to do that is with a surfactant like baby shampoo (or you could spend $100 for some Cascade Plus). Before you start this take a flat bladed screwdriver and see how far into the soil you can stick it. The application rate for shampoo is 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. It's okay if you accidentally use more, but 3 is all you should need. Apply and apply about 1/2 to 1 full inch of water. Use cat food or tuna cans in the yard to know how much you've applied. Give that 3 weeks to show improvement. You will only be able to tell when the soil was just deep irrigated (like a deep rain). If it is not soft enough for you, then reapply the shampoo. Keep testing the soil with the screwdriver. Stop the shampoo treatments when you're happy with the softness. Don't bring in any more topsoil unless you have low spots that don't drain properly. Every time you bring in topsoil that adds to the issues with the lawn. What you want is good soil structure. That fluffy soil you just brought in has no structure at all, so it will take several months to blend in. And that new soil has an unknown chemistry and biology. Had you already tuned up the chemistry you would likely have to start over again due to the new soil. Biology is easier to fix by keep up with deep and infrequent watering, mulch mowing, and the occasional use of organic fertilizer. Let us know if you want to do a soil test, because we have very specific recommendations. The lawn slopes. Is that a problem? Lawns are supposed to slope for proper drainage. My new yard slopes so much it could roll a riding lawn mower, so I'm facing that issue. Do I terrace it somewhat or use plantings that don't need to be mowed on the slope? I'm leaning toward an alternative ground cover. A lawn service will never keep up with the monthly demand for high N fertilizer that bermuda likes. Are you locked in with them for the rest of the season? Bermuda likes a pound of N per month. Ultimately you cannot blame your lawn service for much of anything that goes wrong. Bermuda is bullet proof. Thin bermuda, 99% of the time, is due to shade. If it's not getting 6-8 hours of direct sunlight, it's going to be thin. You might consider using a different ground cover on the north sides of buildings, fences, and tall shrubs/trees. Hard soil is very often associated with shallow and frequent watering. You should be watering deep and infrequent. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Infrequent means once per week in the heat of summer and less often in the cooler months. In the winter it should be more like once per month. You can blame them for not keeping it dense and deep green. They won't do it monthly like bermuda likes it, so you might want to supplement their apps with your own. If you are afraid of getting too much fertilizer, then YOU use organic fertilizer and let them use the chemical ferts. Organic and chemical fertilizers do not interact and work by completely different mechanisms, so you can't hurt anything by using organics.

Would it hurt your feelings to leave the rye out of your seed mix? Rye complicates the germination phase of a new lawn by tricking you into thinking all the seed is germinating in 7 days. Fescue germinates in about 10 days while KBG takes 15-20 days to germinate. Too many people stop with the daily irrigation after a week and the result is they never get much fescue or KBG. Next season practice good lawn care. Water deeply and infrequently, mow at the mower's highest setting, and fertilize on Memorial Day. You'll be doing the reno in late August so you'll use starter fert with that and then a regular fertilizer after the grass stops growing in November. Morph may have other thoughts, but if you got the soil test in the spring you would still have plenty of time to correct it. I am curious to see your CEC to see if you have sandy soil or something else.

If you overseed in the spring you are guaranteed to get crabgrass. Crabgrass seed sprouts in the spring and seems to come up first compared to fescue or Kentucky bluegrass seed. The very best time to overseed is early fall and it gets progressively worse until the next early fall. Another problem with spring seeded grass is the new roots are not strong enough to take on summer heat and dry conditions. For these two reasons many spring seeded lawns end up being full crabgrass by July. This is not necessarily a bad thing if you realize what's going on and don't try throwing chemicals or more seed at the problem. The best thing you can do at this point is minimize your costs and hassle until late summer and get ready for early fall. Practice doing things right, because even weeds look pretty good when watered deeply and infrequently, mulch mowed high, and fertilized (Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving). You don't need Scott's program. They are in the chemical sales business. If you follow their recommendations you will use much more fertilizer, for example, than you need. You will also be using insecticide that you likely don't need to use. Feel free to use their products, if you like, but their "plan" is to sell you more and more chemicals. When you see fertilizer and seed commercials in late winter and early spring, mute them. YOU DO NOT NEED FERTILIZER UNTIL MEMORIAL DAY. Scotts would have you fertilizing much earlier and again in May. Many people think fertilizing early will make the grass grow earlier and faster. It won't make it grow early, but it's going to be growing fast in any case. Spring is when the grass grows fast. It doesn't need more fertilizer to grow faster.