Simple and effective

I find irrigation systems exciting. But even for people like myself, quick-couple valves – or snap valves – are some of the most unexciting components of an irrigation system. You may remember the old days when the whole fairway system, or even the whole irrigation system, was comprised of quick-coupling valves and your night waterer ran around all night plugging impact sprinklers, threaded onto the key, in and out of the quick coupler. This was not only time consuming, but dangerous. Unfortunately, this is still the irrigation system some courses have today to water their fairways.

Quick couplers are an important component of any golf course irrigation system. They provide a water source to syringe greens by hand, hit hot spots, water annuals, fill spray tanks and wash off cart paths. The number of quick couplers varies depending on the superintendent’s wishes, amount of labor available and original installation budget. High-end courses will have a minimum of two quick couplers per green, two or more per tee group on each hole depending on the number of tees and on a set spacing in the fairways. Large greens may have three or more quick couplers. This adds up to a substantial number of quick couplers on an 18-hole course, often totaling more than 200 couplers. Take into account the cost of the quick coupler, the swing joint, the tap off the piping and maybe a valve box, and couplers are a significant cost component of the irrigation system.

Quick couplers are still a simple, maintenance-free product. However, they are dangerous and when inserting the key or disengaging it, you can pretty much guarantee you will get wet. You can tell when you’re dealing with someone accustomed to using quick couplers because their body and face are never directly over the quick coupler. When not properly installed, quick couplers can spin off the swing joint when trying to engage or disengage the key. On older systems, quick couplers were installed on galvanized swing joints so the quick coupler would not turn, but the swing joint would corrode with time. Today quick couplers are mounted on brass swing joints or prefabricated PVC swing joints with brass inserts to prevent them from spinning off. They also can have wings cast to the body as part of the quick coupler by the manufacturer to stabilize them. You can purchase third party stabilizers that attach to the quick coupler.

While the concept has been around for 40 years, the best innovation in quick couplers is an ACME thread on the key as opposed to a lug. The ACME-type quick couplers have a few advantages. One, is the key threads in and out of the body, engaging and disengaging slowly and as such does not spit water at you. Two, the threaded design allows you to throttle the key – it doesn’t have to be all or nothing to get water. It is a much safer valve especially on high-pressure systems. The only downside to ACME-threaded quick couplers is some superintendents believe they provide less water flow, so they feel it takes longer to syringe a green.

Labor plays a part in quantities. If you don’t have enough staff to hand water fairways, installing quick couplers in fairways doesn’t make a lot of sense. Superintendents also have a tendency to have quick couplers installed on new systems where they have encountered dry or hot spots. A new system often remedies those areas.

While locations vary, a quick coupler’s primary purposes on a green is to supply water if for some reason the system around the green is out of commission due to a leak or other malfunction. A quick coupler is installed before the isolation valve for the green so water is available if the green has to be isolated. The other location on the green is usually opposite the one at the isolation valve so there is always at least one live quick coupler. Because green quick couplers are used to hand water, it makes sense to have the quick coupler close so you do not waste a lot of hose length just getting to the green – 10 to 15 feet away is ideal. At greens, quick couplers are usually installed close to a green sprinkler and the isolation valve so they can be easily located.

On tees, quick couplers are located close to the tees either before or after the isolation valve(s) or a combination of the two. Ideally, all the tees can be reached from a quick coupler with the length of hose used by the golf course. The quick couplers for tees may be installed in valve boxes so they can be easily located. Fairway quick couplers are found in different location configurations. Some superintendents like them along the mainline before the isolation valves, others in the middle of the fairway beside a sprinkler while others like them alternating across the fairway from one side to the other. Fairway quick couplers, other than when located in the middle of the fairway, are commonly installed in valve boxes so they can be easily located.