What's going on with my lawn?

Just moved into a new home in Southern Alabama and need help getting my lawn back in shape. What might be causing this

Looks like it might be from heavy traffic. Is there a bus stop in your yard or something

Does that spot hold water at all

I dealt with something similar and found it was chinch bugs. I treated it, removed the dead grass, and reseeded the area. Now it looks much better

Are your sprinklers working properly? It seems like part of the yard might not be getting water

Could it be from dog pee

No sprinkler system, and it’s not dog pee. The area doesn’t hold water. I tried planting grass there but it didn’t work

Kai said:
No sprinkler system, and it’s not dog pee. The area doesn’t hold water. I tried planting grass there but it didn’t work

Try the screwdriver test. If you can’t push a screwdriver 6 inches into the soil, that might be your issue. I struggle with little soil over limestone, so I understand the struggle. Aerating or adding topsoil could help

You might want to have your soil tested. Maybe something was dumped there, like construction waste or chemicals. You may need to replace the soil in that spot

Could you take a closer picture from above? Is there a broken sprinkler line? If not, focus on the soil issues

Grab a shovel and check it out. There might be gravel under the surface, a grub issue, or really poor soil that needs improvement. Since the grass is already dead, some digging won’t hurt. It looks like a low spot; it could have been a fungal issue that killed it all. If I were you, I’d dig a little to see what’s going on, then add a few inches of quality topsoil and mix it in. Then seed it late in winter for dormant growth. It should thrive in the spring with the cooler and wetter conditions