OK, from the pic it looks like the border of the lawn is green, while the center section is not. I see the standing water in the beds. Does the center of your yard get enough water? How often and when do you water? Also what kind of grass is it? Where are you located? Do you fertilize? Do you add iron? Any soil tests?

As I read the descriptions and looked at the pictures, I started putting together a bunch of questions. Most of them have been asked by tiemco.

In addition to his questions on when and how often do you water, how much water do you put down when you water? If you haven't measured, use some tuna cans (any can will work, but tuna cans are convenient) set around the lawn at various spots to see how much is getting applied.

How often do you mow and at what height? The proper height depends on the grass. Some grasses do best when mowed high, others when mowed low.

How high do you have the mower deck set?

And when did you last have the blades sharpened?

Tall fescue does best when it is mowed tall (probably as high as the deck can be set). The grass in the pictures looks like it's mowed a bit short for tall fescue.

It is also very prone to shredding, so a sharp blade is very important.

Given the chance, tall fescue will develop deep roots, and you'd be better off watering less often, but watering more deeply. If you can get the water to penetrate deeply, you'd be better off watering once a week. If the water isn't getting into the soil, you can try to water in cycles--water until a little before runoff, then give it an hour to soak in and repeat. That gives the water a chance to soak in deeply.

Do you mulch mow? If not, start doing so. Mulch mowing returns nutrients, water and organic matter to the lawn.

I do mulch mow, no bag here, and the deck is as high as it will go, front and back. Also I sharpen the blade every spring, so it's been done within the last 6 mos. Anyway it may just need the aeration, to get that water in to these roots... I just need to split the costs with someone I guess. I just have a hard time throwing down $50 at Homer D for 5 minutes of aerating... Thanks for going down these paths with me though...

Call me crazy for stating the obvious - but maybe the grass is dead?

If it's a fescue sod (with what looks like K31), is there a chance there was fine fescue mixed in? Especially since you said it has the most sun exposure, my understanding of fine fescue is once it's dead, it's dead, unlike tall fescue or KBG which goes dormant but bounces back in the fall. Where was the sod purchased from?

Regarding aeration - why do you think you need it? Can you stick a screwdriver in the ground? Did you have a party or other gathering that would have compressed it in just that area?

Best of luck,

Gags

I agree that it looks like your lawn might have some significant die off. Again, looking at where it is green, by the beds with the sprinklers, it sure looks like the rest of the lawn is not getting enough water. You say sprinklings 3X a week. How long is a sprinkling? The general rule of thumb is an inch a week, usually in one long shot, or two half inches in a week. An inch of water takes a good deal of time, but it depends on your water system. A core aeration would be a good idea, it will definitely help get some water to the roots, and a layer of compost afterward would really help your soil. If you don't see any green up this year, I would recommend an overseed after a core aeration and a power raking. In regards to sharpening your blade once a year, that is way too infrequent. Do you do it yourself? A freshly sharpened blade goes dull pretty fast. I am pretty anal about it, I do it once every two weeks, and after two weeks (2-3 mowings) it looks pretty banged up, and I am pretty careful about avoiding sticks.