tenplay said:

I suppose the cause of the bad lawn is neglect. Other than once a week
mowing when needed and some weeding, nothing was done. Actually it
never was a lawn but more of just a large grassy area in the back of the
house bordering a wild bird sanctuary. Re mowing, we cut it with a
power mower 3-4" high. What else is there to mowing?

What else is there to mowing? To minimize stress and wear:
Mow often enough to take off no more than 1/3 of the growth (and maybe
prefer a bit less than 1/3).

Alternating the mowing pattern.

Mow with sharp blades. Dull blades shred the grass rather than
cut it.

And also (from MSU extension service):

§ Avoid mowing during the heat of the day or when the turf is under
drought stress. Mowing when the turf is under stress will damage the turf –
you’ll likely see the mower tracks on the turf in the coming week and it will
look like you had Roundup on the tires. The turf will in almost all cases
recover from this damage but the look is certainly not what most folks are
aiming for. Mow during the morning or early evening to avoid this damage.

Then there's this (regarding water in low-maintenence situations), also
from MSU:

§ Mercy irrigation – if hot, dry conditions persist throughout the summer
and you’re one of the crowd that chooses not to irrigate and allow the turf to
enter dormancy, consider applying a very infrequent irrigation once a month.
Turfgrass can survive from five to eight weeks under dry conditions before
substantial death occurs. Irrigate monthly, applying between 0.5 and 1 inch
of water to ensure turf survival during these hot, dry conditions. Don’t expect
the turf to green up and resume growing – you’re just trying to ensure the
turf plant stays hydrated.

As for other care, *some* fertilizing (with slow-release or organic
fertilizers) would be good -- late summer (Labor Day) and fall (October,
with a 'winterizer' fertilizer).

(All my advice is for Northern, cool-season grasses.)

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)