"We have almost all full sun with a few little shady areas."

"little compaction but poor fertility."

You just answered you own question.

"I am thinking of going to this red fescue this year."

I thought that's what you had. Now I'm confused

"Is it brown in the winter?"

No.

What type of grass do you have and where are you located in SC??

Thanks for helping. We have tall fescue.
For several years I sowed rebel, and one year I sowed kentucky 31. It's all died except the little strip that is in the shade. The extension agent told me that tall fescue would be fine. We limed according to instructions (tilled it in), used starter fertilizer and sowed then put hay on top. I guess this year we have a few more sprigs of fesuce that lived but not much.

So, every year the fescue is dying. I want to switch to something else but I really like having green grass in the winter. I know it would help if I watered a lot more but it's probably not going to happen.

Here's some pictures of good and the bad.

Most of the green is weeds sprouted this summer.

Oh, I in Seneca SC, next to Clemson and not in the mountains.
I'm about 2 hours North of Atlanta.

Here's my yard pictures here.

Here is a link that might be useful: yard

We installed zoysia sod about 3 years ago. It has performed really well and it has no irrigation. Yes, brown in the winter, but overall less mowing, less water, no overseeding, you can patch it with some of the runners, it is a very slow runner (nothing like bermuda).

Unfortunately, sod and a sprinkler system are out of the question at the moment. There is just too much area. Maybe someday after we retire.

You need to irrigate it. In a full sun situation with drought and record heat, this isn't optional. Even Zoysia would need irrigation to look good in full sun/compacted clay but it probably wouldn't die.

Creeping red fescue and other fine fescues tolerate a dry shade and grow well in that setting in our climate. I've been able to keep it alive with very little irrigation and very little shade but I have used a proven variety that has ranked high in full sun test plots. That's why I suggested it in the other thread. With the creeping red fescue that you find in big box stores those varieties aren't so great and usually chock full of weeds.

What I would suggest that you do if you can commit to watering 1" a week (once or twice a week) and in the morning during spring/summer, mowing higher in the summer, is to see if your local Home Depot has the Lesco Transition blend of Tall Fescue. The brands you have used were decent varieties too (except for the kentucky 31).

This weekend (weather permitting), aerate, scalp-mow the existing grass even if it's dead. Overseed at the recommended rate and water several times a day until germination then cut back your watering.

Great tall fescue lawns are not made overnight. They take a couple of years until the drought and heat tolerance is realized and performance is better. So during that time you need to baby it the most to get it to the point that it will be durable, attractive and long lived.

And plant some more trees to provide afternoon shade.

Here is a link that might be useful: Look over this F.A.Q.

Thank you. Do you think the creeping red fescue needs more water than than a tall fescue? Dh is really pushing to go with centipede because the fescue has died so many times. I have used the Lesco from Home depot several times before.
The soil is not compacted. It's been tilled so many times that it's easy to dig in.
And I don't mind ordering seed if I need to.

I know I need to do the water thing more but I see lawns that are in older homes that I KNOW they don't do a thing to them and they still look pretty good. Will the fescue get stronger year after year if it lives?

Oh, plug aerate or the big wheel kind?

Thank you so much for your advice.

"I know I need to do the water thing more but I see lawns that are in older homes that I KNOW they don't do a thing to them and they still look pretty good. Will the fescue get stronger year after year if it lives?"

YES. Every year it should get more and more tolerant of adverse conditions but you have to keep it alive through the first couple of years.

And centiweed is not the panacea you may be thinking of either. It requires really awful acidic soil and last time I checked the seed was pretty expensive. It may survive summer heat and humidity however it would be dormant most of the year in your area. You may even lose some to the cold. Ask yourself if you'd rather have 8 months of great quality appearance but have it crap out on you in the heat or have 4-5 months of so-so appearance and never have to overseed?

The type of aerator you need to use is a core aerator that removes little plugs of soil. Not the one with spikes. Whether it has big wheels or not doesn't make a difference.

Thanks. At least I won't have to water forever if I can get fescue established. I have used a core aerator before and it was my work out for the day, definitely. I couldn't remember the name for the spike aerator!

The mechanical aerators definitely are a workout. Luckily the $50-some odd dollars it cost to rent one for 4 hours is usually the going rate to have a lawn service come in and do it for you.

Thanks, I'll call around.

Oh- now I'm confused. It's been recommended to me to plant creeping red fescue in my partially shady yard in Atlanta. Will it do well there with not a ton of coddling, or should I get something else?

It shouldn't require a ton of coddling. Establishig a lawn from seed is a pain in the butt however once it is it's easy to care for. You can also mix it with hard fescue (for added drought tolerance) and tall fescue (for added wear/traffic tolerance).