Replacing an old lawn with turf

Where are you and what type of grass do you desire - bermuda, zoysia, fescue, centipede, etc?

To smooth/level the area, you can build a drag, which is a piece of chicken wire attached to a 2"x4" (or some similar strait edge), and pulled across the lawn. Similar to what is used between innings on a baseball field, but with a coarser mesh. It'll more or less pull dirt off of the high spots and pull it to the low spots. The more times you go back and forth over the lawn, the smoother things will get.

If the soil is poor, no amount of leveling is gonna fix that. Depending on what "poor" means, I'd either get topsoil or else soil ammendments like organic matter added. You have a great opportunity now to fix things right and avoid years of trouble, for which the solution at that point is very difficult.

Can't see your incline/slope from here. If sufficiently inclined/sloped, I would consider a retaining wall. Then backfill with new soil as you said your current soil is poor. Do this in a manner that would reduce the incline/slope, but still maintain some natural drainage.

The type of grass depends on your locale, availability of irrigation water to substantially irrigate, and natural rainfall. You can probably find that out locally.

Sorry I should have been more clear. I live in the UK. I am unfamilia with lawn mixed used elsewhere. I guess I am looking for advice from U members.

Thanks for replies

-- GardenCadet