I wasn't sure what I was looking for as I approached the Silverbell Golf Course driving range.
Rich DelVecchio, who is deaf, didn't look any different than the half-dozen golfers practicing Thursday. I didn't see anyone using sign language.
I slipped my work badge over my head and assumed my best I'm-a-reporter pose - flipped-open notebook in one hand, and a pen in the other - when I heard my name screamed from 40 yards away.
"Patrick!"
I felt silly.
The 46-year-old approached me with an outstretched hand, the same way he meets new friends when placed in a golfing foursome five days a week. DelVecchio lost about 95 percent of his hearing from severe meningitis at age 2. A hearing aid and a lifetime of reading lips allows him to listen; he speaks clearly.
People are also reading…
"At first they're afraid to talk to me, not knowing if they can communicate to me," he said. "I break the ice. I go up to them. I make friends easy."
At a July tournament in Ohio, the Tucsonan became one of eight American men to qualify for the World Deaf Golf Championships.
Twenty countries will compete Oct. 8-12 in Tsu, Japan.
DelVecchio works out at a gym every day, and plays as often - driving, putting and chipping in the mornings, then, after lunch, playing nine or 18 holes.
"I'm in my own world," he said. "I feel peaceful. I can be my own boss."
At age 8, his dad bought DelVecchio his own clubs.
In high school, he played football and baseball. He wrestled and ran track, and, on the weekends, golfed.
He attended Rochester Institute of Technology before moving back to his hometown. There, he served as a General Motors quality-control worker for 21 years.
When he was offered early retirement, he knew where to move.
"It's a year-round sport here," he said.
DelVecchio, who has a 2-year-old girl, often meets deaf players on the course.
They want what everyone else wants - golf tips.
"I'm not doing anything different from hearing people," he said. "The only thing different is that I have less hearing."
He wouldn't trade places with those with perfect ears.
"This is who I am," he said.
In the world championship, he'll have to remove his hearing aid. That's the sport's only rule change.
"It's a little bit different," he said. "I'm used to the wind and the birds singing."
DelVecchio would like to make money golfing. His pro aspirations dwindled after only one tournament in 2007, when he tried to move his own sleeper sofa and threw out his back.
A sciatic nerve problem made it impossible for him to golf - or walk much - for a year. He gained 30 pounds.
"I was depressed," he said. "I couldn't do anything. I was miserable, knowing that it could be the end of my career."
DelVecchio, whose back recovered with rest, hopes a strong amateur year could give him a shot at one of the sport's minor pro tours.
He'd be attractive to sponsors, I told him.
"People see a deaf person playing in a tournament, and it shows anyone can do it," DelVecchio said. "If I can do it, anyone can."
To an extent.
The Tucsonan still needs about $5,800 to pay for travel expenses, lodging and tournament fees in Japan.
He's hosting a fundraising golf tournament May 26 at The Golf Club at Vistoso and needs about 92 participants, plus sponsorships.
You can contact him at RichBirdie@yahoo.com.
"I want to represent the USA," he said. "My goal is to help the team win the championship."
Contact Patrick Finley at 573-4145 or pfinley@azstarnet.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/patrickfinley
