Question
had water oak tree that was dead. removed tree and had stump grounded up. removed stump  shaving and replace with top soil.  replaced grass with sod (St. augustine). the rest of yard does great but this area does very poorly. looks dry but gets same water other areas get. what can I do to get better results. thanks for your help.

Answer
The only explanation I can offer is that the area is quite free draining; because the ground up stump material is quite loose. Options are:
1. Water this area more frequently - by hand, possibly.
2. Add a polymer like Terrasorb?which will hold water for the turf to use later. With such products please note that a "little goes a long way".