I cannot emphasize enough the improvement I saw in my bermuda after only one season of mowing low with a reel mower and following the directions I learned here for soil amendments. It was simply amazing.
I buzzed it off low with the rotary mower around May/June. It was so brown and ugly, I was afraid I'd killed the entire lawn. But I followed with a top-dressing of compost, a heavy application of CGM, applied some lava sand, greensand, and continued with a bi-weekly application of molasses and liquid seaweed. I also found that using a soaker hose to water instead of the sprinkler system worked much better for me. I was able to really saturate the ground much more effectively this way and with minimal runoff.
Wow! Did it come back with a vengeance!!
I was lucky enough to find a great deal on a used John Deere 220 greens mower on Ebay and it really does a great job. No more half moons all over the place like a rotary mower gives you.
Keep in mind that I often had to mow the lawn 3 times a week, but the end result was so satisfying that it was worth it to me. (I'm actually one of those sickos that enjoys mowing the lawn hehe)
I recently had some tree work done and was complimented many times by the arborist about how good the lawn looked.
Give it a shot next season. I bet you'll be amazed with the results as well.