How This Ag Engineer Is Making Golf More Inclusive

Seth King is an advocate for people with disabilities and is changing the course of the game

For Seth King, attending the 2023 John Deere Classic and touring a John Deere factory combined two of his greatest joys – agriculture and golf.

It also provided the silver-award winning Special Olympian golfer a platform to highlight how the sport is becoming more inclusive by developing adaptive tournaments for those with disabilities.

“The rules have been adapted for people who have disabilities, not just mental or physical disabilities,” he explained. “A good example is for the blind. They get an aid that can help them aim and find the ball and just help guide them around the course and no penalty comes with that.”

About Seth

Seth, an athlete with high-functioning autism, first started golfing when he was quite young. One of his fondest memories is swinging a golf club while helping his family harvest corn, wheat, and soybeans at their farm in Fishers, Indiana.

In high-school, Seth’s passion for the game grew. He competed in the Special Olympics and broke new ground being an athlete with high-functioning autism. He won two silver medals at state competitions and holds a World Ranking for Golfers with Disabilities which allows him to play in most disability and adaptive tournaments worldwide. He is only the second athlete to receive worldwide eligibility.

Most recently, Seth was invited by the prestigious European Royal and Ancient (R&A) to enter their inaugural adaptive open. An R&A representative recently shared, "Seth is just the second athlete in the II-3 group to get full International eligibility (worldwide) so is set to help break new ground and advocate for emerging opportunities for athletes."

Seth is now a sophomore at Purdue University and majors in Ag engineering. He chose the subject because he enjoys farming but also loves math and technology. Seth explained, “I want to be part of the technology increase and getting faster with, you know, new autonomous [equipment].”

Story originally published by John Deere.

Featured Stories

Kranthi Varala, assistant professor, and Rachel Kuhn, a junior, both in Purdue’s department of horticulture & landscape architecture, collect individual seed pods of genetically modified Arabidopsis plants to help assay the genetic changes leading to higher seed oil content.

Purdue-USDA team develops fast-track process for genetic improvement of plant traits

Researchers interested in improving a given trait in plants can now identify the genes that...

Noah Berning standing outside of the ABE building.

Academic and extracurricular excellence earns ABE and ag econ senior France A. Córdova Award

Growing up in Monroeville, Indiana, a small-town near Fort Wayne, Noah Berning dreamed of...

Senior Kayla Grennes stands in cap and sash in Purdue Greenhouse

The COVID-19 Class: Born a Boilermaker senior persists to find her fit at Purdue

The “COVID-19 Class” is a mini-series documenting the experiences of three members of...

PhD student Nowrin Shaika and professor Halis Simsek, both in agricultural and biological engineering, demonstrate using electrocoagulation to harvest microalgae Chlorella vulgaris from wastewater cleaned with algae.

Studies assess feasibility of aquaculture wastewater treatment methods

Aquaculture production operations that help feed the world’s growing population also...

The Wildlife Society students hold a plaque for overall conclave winner; a student holds radio telemetry equipment; students hold binoculars while birding

Purdue TWS Hosts North Central Section Conclave

The Purdue Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society welcomed fellow students from across the...

Austin Berenda - Graduate Ag Research Spotlight

When Second Lieutenant Austin Berenda was in Ranger School, he led his platoon through tactical...