I hope something in this helps. I searched around since I don't know anything personally.

Centipede, Southerners in the know call centipede grass -- the lazy man's grass. That's because this light green grass grows slowly and requires less mowing and fertilizing than most other warm-season grasses. Centipede grass is very well suited for the sandy soils of the Southeast and Gulf states. It is coarsely textured, low growing, and somewhat cold-tolerant (to 5 o F).

Bahia, likes alot of water so probably not.

Bermuda, you said you didn't want this one.

Buffalo, This one won't handle traffic well.

Carpet, This will handle the heat and the traffic but it's going to take water. It's used on a lot of golf courses.

St. Augustine, This one won't handle traffic well.

Zoysia This one will take sever weather conditions and tolerate traffic.

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That's great to hear about the St. Augustine's. One thing about reading articles that "score" certain attributes is that they very seldom tell you what the unit of measure is. It sounds like that might work for him too.

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4Ruddy: What do you do seasonally to make your St. Augustine grass so thick, wonderful? Would you share your secrets, as this year our grass, especially under one of our live oak trees seems very sparse. I know it's probably late, especially in Dallas, Texas, but I thought I'd give it a try, using an organic fertilizer which has to be applied every other month or so. We came here from Oregon where the only problem was moss! We have no idea what is the right direction to take.

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Wannabeinoregon

Looking out at the lawn, I'm beginning to agree, Jiffymouse, and think a ground cover under both trees is the answer. What would you recommend? You're probably in the same zone as I am, so your recommendations would be right on. Do you have St. Augustine? and what do you to seasonally to "feed" it? We're into our second year in Texas, and haven't hit on the right mix yet. Thanks~

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Wannabeinoregon