Have you considered buffalo grass?

Thanks I has never heard of it before. Looks like it does well in certain climates, worth researching a bit.

I've looked into UC Verde quite a bit. I would use it in a heartbeat if I didn't have a free lawn that came with the house. I am allergic to buffalo grass, but this hybrid does not get seed heads or flowers, so I should be good to go with it. I like it because it's tough, spreads fairly rapidly, and can be mowed high or low. On the down side, it cannot survive in any shade. I have pictures of a different variety of buffalo.

That picture looks pretty good, doesn't it. It's mowed at about 1/2 inch with a reel mower. But wait! See that brick mailbox at the end of the strip? Here's the grass up next to that.

This is the west side of the mailbox gets full sun half a day, but that's not enough.

Here is the same variety, different location, trying to spread over the concrete.

Those brown things are seed heads and flowers...the things that drive me crazy. But UC Verde does not have those. What people like about this "Turfalo" variety was that the seed heads grew at the same rate as the grass, so it didn't ever look shaggy. Well, not too shaggy. But the brown heads do come quickly about 5 days after mowing. Again, UC Verde does not have them, so noice.

Wild buffalo grass is a very sparse looking plant with long seed heads dominating the appearance. The hybrids are much more suitable as a lawn.