Which type of grass should I plant in the PNW

[Nuss]

We just finished having our house built in the Pacific Northwest (Near Portland, OR) and the sod they used leaves a lot to be desired to say the least! I’m planning to remove it and start fresh but I’m not sure which variety would be my best option for grass type. I’m looking for something that does well in the PNW as well as I would like to keep it short (1 inch) The backyard gets sun all day and the front is shaded about 1/2 the day. Any suggestions regarding this project are very much appreciated!

[MorpheusPA]

PNW grasses are generally northern for obvious reasons, which aren't going to flourish well at heights of 1".

What's wrong with the current sod? It may actually be quite workable as-is, once established.

Really, any of the northern three will work--fescue, rye, or bluegrass. You'll hear occasional spurious claims that bluegrass "don't work" up there. Untrue (they can be traced to one site, actually). The place is dotted with bluegrass farms and a lot of the elite cultivars do extremely well there. However, fescue and rye also do extremely well due to the mild winters and mild summers.

[Nuss]

The issue I’m having with the sod is it’s really hard, almost like plastic grass and it’s not that comfortable to walk on barefoot. The blades are pretty wide as well. All the houses recently built in our neighborhood have this same sod and it all has these same characteristics. I like to golf so of course Im looking at the grass there and it’s nice and soft and appears to be around 1in in the areas that I like the looks of and really just want to replicate it at home. I picked up a reel mower so im thinking that will help but I just want to make sure to make the best decision.
Thank you for your response, I appreciate it!
Also I’ll add some pictures on here to give you a better idea.

[MorpheusPA]

That would usually be bentgrass and while you can have a small amount, it's nightmarishly difficult to maintain at home.

[Nuss]

Which type of grass would you recommend? Something that is comfortable to walk on barefoot and looks nice as well as thrives in the PNW? What about Kentucky Bluegrass?

[turf_toes]

Which type of grass would you recommend? Something that is comfortable to walk on barefoot and looks nice as well as thrives in the PNW? What about Kentucky Bluegrass?

If you are west of the mountains, I’d suggest Rye grass.

I’m not sure the reel mower is your best tool to cut rye. A reel mower would be great on Bent grass. But Rye is better mowed at higher settings than you can normally reach with a reel mower.

But if it’s all you got, then that’s what you’ve got.

[Nuss]

Currently I don't use the reel mower as I'm cutting at 2.5 inches. The problem I'm having is the grass is very hard and not comfortable at all to walk on barefoot. I'm going to cut it out and start from scratch and I want to make sure to plant something that is closer to what's at the golf courses in the area.

[MorpheusPA]

Depends on the reel mower and the size of the lawn. Scotts' reel mower goes to 3", but a dense lawn is a nightmare to cut with it.

I might suggest 90% rye, 10% bluegrass for some minor repair ability and a chance at some diversity in the lawn.

[andy10917]

I might suggest 90% rye, 10% bluegrass for some minor repair ability and a chance at some diversity in the lawn.

Purdue indicated that their testing showed that Rye will almost eliminate KBG (allelopathy?) inside of 2 years - and that's when the 50:50 mix (by weight),

https://turf.purdue.edu/how-much-perenn ... n-a-mix-3/

[MorpheusPA]

I never believe in allelopathy working except when you don't want it to. There are tons of tri-mix lawns that do perfectly well, so I'm never sure how to interpret that finding--except for the following line:

"By the following Aug, the 100% KBG treatments was comprised of 80% KBG and the rest of the plot was annual bluegrass." They did have issues with annual bluegrass in all other plots, didn't seem to concern themselves overmuch with control, and didn't seem to care for the plots very well. These were not, in other words, well-tended lawns or well-sprouted plots to begin with.