A reel type irrigation system adapted to be connected to a source of liquid under pressure to distribute the liquid on the ground including a reel unit with a rotatable reel and drive means adapted to rotate the reel in a given direction when the drive means is connected to the source of liquid under pressure; a carriage unit movably supported on the ground with a sprinkling gun adapted to discharge the liquid onto the ground when connected to the liquid source; and a flexible pipe connected to the reel and the carriage unit so that the pipe is wound around the reel to pull the carriage unit over the ground to the reel unit. A control system is provided which senses the ground speed of the carriage unit by sensing the speed of the supply pipe with respect to the reel unit and adjusts the drive means to maintain the ground speed of the carriage unit at a preselected rate.
