Good grass can only be achieved with good soil. Have you ever had a soil test? Where in NJ do you live? What are your yard conditions? (Full sun, partial shade, shady). Do you know what kind of grass you have? Most lawncare companies are worthless. They apply all the same products to everyone's lawn. The people hired to do the work don't know much about lawns, they just do what is on the work order. It's a profit driven service, not a results one. You can do a much better job yourself with an hour or two spent on the weekends.

We have sandy soil. Drainage so good that unfortunately when it rains or we water we can see where it isn't staying. Even though we did have 4-6 inches of topsoil put down prior to sod & seed. When our pasture (behind house) was tested at Rutgers it needed lime. Front yard - full sun. Back yard - gets mostly sun, then to partial shade. Our land is flat.
The problem is - we really don't know what chemicals to buy - when and how much.
Thanks
RA

I think if it's that important to you, and you have high expectations (looking like a golf course), you'll need to do it yourself or you will be constantly disappointed. I went through a similar situation, went through two different services, and the lawn kept getting worse and worse. Plants dying, grass turning brown, nobody knows why.

I'm sure there are a few exceptions, but I've found that most services view themselves as being paid to "apply X to the lawn once a month" or "make long grass shorter", not to make a lawn look great. Like Tiemco says, they are not results oriented.

I started by going to the library and getting a couple of books on lawn care, and when I needed more information that led me here. My expectation now is that I can't buy a good lawn, I have to build it myself, and I will plan to add yard work to the things I do, just like back when I lived with Mom & Dad! Good luck!

You can absolutely do this yourself.

If you want it to be great, get a professional soil test, not a school soil test. The best pro lab in the country is Logan Labs in Ohio. Their $20 test will give you much more information than the Rutgers test. Post your test results here and we can help you decide what to use, how much, and when. Tuning up your soil can sometimes be a continual process, so go into it with that in mind. Sand is particularly devoid of nutrients and the capability to hold nutrients. And I'm not just talking about NP and K. I'm talking about micronutrients that lawns need. So get started with a real test.

Weeds usually result from improper care. Please answer the following questions:

How often are you watering and for how long?
How high/low are you mowing?
What kind of grass do you have (Fescue and/or Kentucky bluegrass are pretty much your options)?

"We have sandy soil. Drainage so good that unfortunately when it rains or we water we can see where it isn't staying. Even though we did have 4-6 inches of topsoil put down prior to sod & seed."

This is not necessarily a bad thing. Sandy soils can grow very nice grass (Yankee stadium, most golf courses, football fields, etc). Good drainage also reduces fungal outbreaks. Sandy soils allow for deep roots as well. Where you run into issues is water and nutrient holding ability. You will have to tailor your irrigation to be more frequent with less water, as one inch all at once will be wasted. Maybe one inch spread out over 2 to 3 waterings per week will be better. Also applications of fertilizers should be broken up, again so less of it is leached away and wasted. The good thing with sandy soils is they require less amendments to correct deficiencies, but without a soil test (one better than "you need lime") those levels are unknown.

When our pasture (behind house) was tested at Rutgers it needed lime. Front yard - full sun. Back yard - gets mostly sun, then to partial shade. Our land is flat.
The problem is - we really don't know what chemicals to buy - when and how much.

What kind of chemicals? You mean fertilizers, lime, and weed killers? It's not that hard. Most cool season grasses use 3-5 lbs of nitrogen per 1000 square feet per year. Most of this should be applied in the fall. If you go organic, which will add organic matter to your sandy soil, you can use it more often, and the rules don't apply as much. Other amendments can only be determined with a soil test.