My last house had 8000' of lawn and I was not about to hand water it.
Sprinkler systems can indeed be fun to design and build. Lots of online design tools to lay out your yard and draw it up. I like Hunter heads for large ball field sized lawn areas, Toro or rain jet for smaller lawns, specific shrub heads to cover strips and parkways, and drip for all potted plants and decorative plants near the house.
I use 1" pipe for the pressure line and 3/4 for each zone. Everything is zoned on a timer by type of watering need and I added a rain sensor so when it rains the sprinklers don't run. I don't dig ditches any more but you can rent a ditch witch and have your trenches dug in about 2 hr.
Trencher | Rent Walk Behind Trenchers from Home Depot Tool Rental
Total cost typically less than $500 for up to a 1/2 ac property