atthew Ross never spoke and barely made any sounds as a young child.

The one exception, according to his mother, Susan, was when they would drive by a golf course. That's when a 4-year-old Matthew would start making noise. Finally, Susan asked him if that's where he wanted to go and Matthew started nodding his head.

So Susan took her son to meet a local golf pro and Matthew's life changed forever. When he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, soon thereafter, a day on the links became the best therapy.

By the time Matthew was 6, he had moved from Connecticut to Florida with his mother. They continued the golf lessons, which became about a whole lot more than hitting a little white ball.

"Matt learned his vocabulary on the golf course," Susan says. "His first word was bogey."

Matthew kept picking up new words thanks to a deal he made with his instructor. Since Matthew wanted to throw the ball instead of hitting it, he was told he could throw it if he said a new word. Then he'd try to hit another ball farther than the one he just threw.

Over time, Matthew found his niche on the golf course. The game has taught him lessons he struggled to learn in classrooms. He learned math so he could keep score and figured out how to control his temper so he could keep playing.

These days, the senior at Mitchell (New Port Richey, Fla.) has a rolodex more like Tiger than a teenager. He's met golf legends Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez and local sports stars like Tampa Bay Bucs All-Pro Ronde Barber at various events and charities. He also became friends with former Florida governor Jeb Bush, visiting, trading e-mails and hitting the golf course with the president's brother.

Thanks to his connections with the governor, Matthew became a page in the Florida legislature in the seventh and eighth grade -- the first autistic child to hold that position. As a result of his work there, Matthew won the prestigious Temple Grandin Award, given to one person in the nation with Asperger's each year.

All along, he kept playing golf.

"He just gets so excited when he plays," Susan says. "It's something he enjoys doing and it's something he's good at."

Matthew has won several Special Olympics tournaments, including nationals back in 2002.

In 2006, playing on a PGA course in California, he took home a bronze medal. And for the past four years, he's participated with the Mitchell varsity team. While he doesn't compete in actual matches, he'll work out with the squad and play behind the last group.

The one condition was that he'd get no special favors.

"He always insisted on being treated like everyone else," Mitchell golf coach Rick Hyatt says.

It's been a great experience for Matthew, who has shown huge improvement every year, according to Hyatt. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Matthew packs a lot of power, hitting his best drives up to 280 yards.

"It's just fun to be around the guys and play golf with them," Matthew says.

The feeling is mutual.

"I think it definitely helped Matthew to be around the guys, but that worked both ways," Hyatt says. "It was good for the guys to see Matthew and how passionate he was about golf."

Matthew doesn't know exactly what the future holds, but he'd like to go to a local community college and possibly become a weatherman in the future.

One thing's for sure: Wherever he ends up, expect to find a golf course nearby.

"Out on the course," his mom says, "he's just another golfer, not an autistic kid."

Ryan Canner-O'Mealy covers high school sports for ESPN RISE.