This 100-year-old Manitoba golfer is still hitting the links

For nearly eight decades, Norman Shineton has been hitting the links – and at 100 years old, he has no plans of stopping any time soon.

With cheers from friends and family watching on, the centenarian golfer and resident of McCreary, Man. took a steady swing at McCreary Golf Course on Friday – sending the ball arching through the sky.

It is a swing that is around eight decades in the making.

Shineton started playing golf in the 1940s.

"We used to get up at five o'clock in the morning and go to Clear Lake to golf, and, of course, you had to get there early to get a tee time," he told CTV News.

He's loved the sport ever since, but his time on the green is as much about spending time with friends and family as it is about hitting a perfect game.

"The way you play golf today, it creates a lot of friends," he said.

Friends like Pat Jensen, a long-time volunteer at the golf course who has spent many afternoons here with Shineton.

"We golfed with him very often, like on seniors’ days. He's a great golfer and he still is," Jensen said, adding Shineton had a hand in creating the McCreary Golf Course in the mid-1990s and has been a fixture of the club ever since.

"(He is a) great guy, always has been, and well-loved all over the neighbourhood – nothing not to love actually."

The afternoons spent on the course are equally cherished by Shineton's family – many of whom were with him Friday, and proudly lined up with him for a picture.

"We've probably golfed with my dad more in the last two years since he has entered the care home than I have throughout his other lifetime," said Darlene Windus, Shineton's daughter.

"Since he's moved into the care home, we have been sharing a lot of memories, and especially when he turned 100. He likes to think back, and yeah he has so many wonderful memories."

Shineton says he has no advice for those looking to hit 100 years old like him, but says he is thankful.

"I don't know why I'm 100 and six months old, but the gods gave me the opportunity and I'm here," Shineton told CTV News.

At 100 years old, Shineton is modest about his golfing.

"I'm just an ordinary bum who goes out here and hits a ball," He said, adding he is satisfied with his game.

"Because it gives me the opportunity to be here, to be out in the country which I love, I love outdoors, and it gives me that opportunity. And it also gives me the opportunity with other people as friends."