The 95-year-old is a familiar face on the greens and fairways of Bognor Golf Club – particularly early in the morning.

If you see him on the first tee on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, you can be certain it's 7.30am.

Tommy was given the VIP treatment at the Downview Road club as men's captain Ian Pettie and veterans' captain Peter McCormack hosted a special lunch for him.

They presented him with a glass engraved with 'Tommy 95' and the Observer was there to capture the moment.

Tommy was surprised by all the fuss. "I had an inkling that something was going on, but I didn't know what. It was lovely to be recognised," he said.

He took up golf aged 67 in 1980 after retiring, and has been hooked on the sport ever since.

Tommy plays off a handicap of 28 – "I've been trying to get it down for years," he says – and has some silverware on his mantelpiece to prove his prowess.

He won the club's Chris Clark Trophy in 1992 – getting a hole-in-one in the process – and took home the Pillage Trophy a year later.

In his younger days, he was a keen cyclist and badminton player and believes his cycling helped give him a level of fitness that helps keep him active as he gets ever-nearer becoming a centenarian.

Club captain Pettie said: "No-one who meets him can believe how old he is. Most would guess that he was 15 or 20 years younger.

"He's quite a character and we're delighted he is still playing so regularly."

He has three sons – John, Peter and Michael – four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Son Peter told of an afternoon round with his dad not long ago when he casually mentioned it was his second round of the day.

Tommy is also proud of the day ten years ago when he went round in one under his age – something every golfer strives for.