As always, I'll warn that unfamiliar tests are frequently not very good. But we'll run with it. These are similar enough that I'm just using the front numbers--the test is likely to have a larger variance than I'm used to anyway.

Rip out and start over with new soil? Never! (Well, very rarely). Unless it was rendered toxic by a major spill from a tanker truck, it can be rescued far more cheaply than replacing it. The grass, of course, may need reseeding this fall to bring it up to tolerable.

See if you can get him on the normal feeding schedule (May, September, October, winterizer), and to mow and water appropriately. That'll help!

A CEC of 10.1 is pretty consistent with their soil findings, so that's good. It's a pretty sandy soil, but with plenty of silt, and a nice base for a lawn.

pH 5.6: Probably a misread. With calcium levels that low, I'd expect something closer to five or even a little below. I'm running with the ion distribution rather than the actual pH as I trust that more.

OM 2.5%: Mulch mow, always. But other than that, no special effort is technically required (for a recommendation here, I'd say to feed organically and add OM at every opportunity, but your neighbor probably doesn't want to put in that effort).

Phosphorus 210: Very high, but certainly not a problem. None required or desired, and I'd use very low or zero phosphorus fertilizers (small number or 0 in the second place in the fertilizer, like 27-0-5 and the like).

Calcium 11.5%: Deficient, and probably what's causing the majority of the quality issues. Target here will be 60-65%. I broke my own rules here and recommended three applications of calcium this year. As always, use Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime (all calcitic) to raise this faster and more efficiently.

Magnesium 3.9%: Very low, but not absolutely awful. We use Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) from the drugstore or grocery store to change this. Recommendations below.

Potassium 1.3%: Quite low, and I'd normally skip it with this much calcium flowing in. I'm not really all that comfortable skipping it here with a number this low--but I also don't want to add K just to have it wash out. Hold for now.

Minor Elements: Zinc looks low, but it's really fine. Everything else is OK!

Recommendations:

April 1 (give or take): Apply 9 pounds per thousand square feet of Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime per thousand square feet.

April 15: Apply 2 pounds per thousand Epsom salt.

July 1: Apply 6 pounds per thousand square feet of Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime per thousand square feet.

October 1: Apply 6 pounds per thousand square feet of Encap, Mag-I-Cal, or Pennington Fast Lime per thousand square feet.

October 15: Apply 2 pounds per thousand Epsom salt.

Thanks Morph, this is great. I'm waiting to see what he says about his plans.....this option is much cheaper!!!