Response to Alex about lime for my yard?

I would no use lime unless a ph test showed the soil to be highly acidic. Follow your dads advice and use some lawn fertilizer I think you will get better results. I reread you original question. Your brown spots may be from incorrect watering. Dig down in some of the brown spots and see if that area is dry. If it is, hand water the spots and check for clogged or mis aimed nozzles in that area. If those spots seem to be getting a lot of water(which I doubt) then you can consider the possibility of a lawn disease.