There is no bermuda hybrid seed. There are varieties of common bermuda seed but not the TIF varieties. Not only that, but there should never be a reason that bermuda in the full sun ever gets thin. Let's get to the bottom of the problem.

Where do you live?

What is your watering schedule? How often and for how long do you water?

Did you get an unusual amount of rainfall in the past month?

Do you have any low spots where water accumulates during rain, and are these the same areas?

Is there much shade on these thin areas?

When were the last two times you fertilized and what did you use?

There's no seed for hybrid Bermuda, but a new one called princess 77 is supposed to have viable seed at a very high price.

I'm much more concerned with what in the heck happened to that lawn! WOW. When was the sod laid? Are you up against a golf course fence? Damage like that is exceedingly rare for Bermuda grass, especially hybrid types. It almost looks like the sod never rooted? Bermuda occasionally gets a fungus, but it's also very rare in a home lawn. Insect damage is a possibility, but healthy Bermuda usually grows thru that in one season. Even Bermuda under standing water doesn't show bare ground like that.... That has to be a compound problem like deer chewing on dry Bermuda over rocky soil next to a golf course with a fungus problem! In all seriousness, please give more history & detail when you get a chance.

I'll take some more pics and get some more detailed info soon ....

Couple things though.

This is San Diego, CA. It's the same sod since we bought the house in 1990. It was a mess then, and I returned it to it's glory. We let it go brown during our harsh winters :) out here. There were a lot of weeds this past winter so I lightly sprayed it with a weed killer during this time (I'll have to look up the product). I'll also have to look up the fertilizer i use.

Here's a pic from 2013 - you can see it looks way better. The dog is no longer around.

I water 3x a week at night. One set goes off for about 20 minutes - it has low flow rotating heads on it; The other set of sprinklers runs for about 8 minutes.

Something is destroying my lawn. I certainly appreciate any and all help! Thanks!

You need a soil test stat, but it looks shady, which does cause slow decline & if you broadcast sprayed a wees killer like glyphosate (roundup), then mowed it super short in the shade....Maybe I can see this happening. DC? What you think?

Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.

Couple thoughts - this is California, and the water police would be out in force if I watered for 8 hours straight - not ot mention I wouldn't be able to afford that. I've never watered like that before, and my watering habits haven't changed through the years.

What about a soils test - or that fungus someone mentioned? How do I go about getting that done?

Here's some pics, some of the lawn is in shade for the morning (shaded by a big italian stone pine), but it does get sun in the afternoon. And, as you can see, the spots also occur in the parts that aren't shaded by the tree. Also included is my fertilizer and the spray (that I used once, lightly, while dormant).

Again, this lawn was fine just a few years ago.

Your landscape is beautiful & you obviously put in the work, which is why I think you need a Logan labs test yesterday. Just to rule out soil imbalance, even though Bermuda is really tolerant.

There is more shade there than you think, it's not so much about the intensity of the light, it's the duration & you have big walls & big trees. I think you need to cut higher to compensate for the shade, because the grass should be reaching across those bare spots really quick.

All that said, if that spectracide has 2,4 D as the active ingredient, that's my prime suspect. I'll never use another 2,4D product on my Bermuda, it caused a lot more damage than I expected & there are plenty of other products that work as well on the weeds.

Can we get some close ups of the grass to check for fungus?

After rereading your original post, I think we do need to look more into the fungal possibility. The way you water combined with the short cut height, shade & sterile soil...As rare as it is maybe you might have a golf course style fungus attack. Obviously we know what to change going forward on your lawn, but how do you feel about a blast of fungicide to see if that produces results?

Having owned a home for several years with hybrid Bermuda I thought I would chime in. Have you used Spectracide before on your lawn? I was very careful with what chemicals I applied to my lawn. If you applied the Spectracide during high temperatures it will kill the lawn where applied.

just a thought.

One inch of water per week is one inch of water per week. I had pretty good water pressure and good hose but the sprinkler was extremely low flow with high coverage. If you had an oscillator sprinkler I would guess yours would take 8 hours. But with an in ground system, everything is different. I apparently have not conveyed the importance of deep watering as opposed to merely misting the air and hoping the roots will get all of that. Here is a picture of some yards in eastern Pennsylvania. There are minor differences from yard to yard, but the grass type is all Kentucky bluegrass and all fertilized on similar schedules. The main difference is the green one is watered once a week.

What are your specific watering restrictions? I like to think that San Antonio was one of the enlightened cities when they created their watering restrictions. During a normal water availability conditions we are "supposed" to water one day a week depending on our address. When it's normal we can water whenever for however long. With stage 2 drought we are restricted to that certain day for a total of 7 hours at night. With stage 3 drought it goes to once every other week. THAT WORKS! The mistakes I see in other places is they only allow a few minutes of watering every day or every other day. That kind of watering will kill some grasses and much of the rest of a garden.

I agree with everything you're saying DC, but do you think this was caused by improper watering & can be solved with proper watering? Seems to me he has other issues that are more likely causes...

It might be a disease caused by improper watering. Simply fixing the watering will clear up some of it. If there is an active disease going in there, it might disappear once the soil dries out. If not then you'll need either corn meal or a chemical fungicide. I might do an organic dose of anything (corn meal, alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow), soybean meal, or Milorganite) applied at 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Find your nearest feed store(s) and check availability. I could not find squat in Temecula when looking for my mom's yard, but that was 15 years ago. I believe most places have rabbit pellets in 50-pound sacks. Getting the soil health back with once a year organics will pay off more than you might think. Sometimes the growth is explosive after a long time with no organics. Organics do take 3 weeks to see the improvement, but you will see it.

Changing the watering won't give you less shade, but it might help that grass in the shade.

Whatever you did to that bermuda, it's a good one. Hope you guys figure it out, i got some bermuda I need to kill.

1 tip is to never water at night, it promotes fungal growth.

That looks like mole cricket damage, to my eye anyway.

Sorry folks - got real busy at work, and then the 4th Holiday, then more work ... but I'm back. Been reading everyone's suggestions and I'll try to follow up here.

reeljake -

1) you mentioned a soil test; How does one go about that?

2) Also, that Spectracide I used did have 2,4D in it, and I'm leaning towards this as being my main problem;

3) Fertilizer is Turf Builder Weed & Feed 29-0-3; Is there a better product?

4) I'll take a close up of the grass so you can look for fungus.

dchall -

1) You think I'm doing too much watering? (closest to patio is 8 minutes regular sprinklers; farthest away is 20 mins rotating sprinklers; 3 x per week). What would you change to?

2) Watering restrictions for San Diego are twice a week for 5 minutes at a time - unless you have rotating heads.

Truth

1) Mole cricket damage? What would you use to combat that?

= = =

The lawn does look like it's getting better, and runners are starting to fill in some of the spots, but it's a slow process; I've resorted to pulling the runners that appear on the cement and transplanting them to the empty spots. I'll also try cutting higher - although I use the typical reel mover and it's set to the middle notch (of 3) for the back yard.

thanks to everyone here who's trying to help me out. Really do appreciate it.

You're Bermuda grass dose look healthy for the most part. over seeding it is kind ..... just try to improve the soil of you're lawn

"Truth

1) Mole cricket damage? What would you use to combat that?"
Talstar works well.
Mole Cricket control.

Call Logan labs for the soil test & for fertilizer, Scott's greenmax is a good one that's easy to find for synthetic. Grains like soybean meal, corn meal, kelp meal should be available in CA, or even compost are good options for organics. Liquid organics are a great choice right now--Fish fertilizer or kelp extract. Kelp meal is good too. Results in a day or 2!