Rob Stephens is well known in Gloucestershire golf circles.

First and foremost he’s a very good player and, secondly, he’s also captain of the county’s seniors team.

It’s a role that the just turned 58-year-old took on at the start of the season having become eligible to play seniors golf three years ago.

And Stephens, who helped Gloucestershire to reach the final of the county championship in his first season as a senior, thoroughly enjoys playing at the level.

“There are some extremely good players,” he said, “the standard is very good and it’s getting better all the time.”

Stephens, who plays off three – he played off one under the old handicap system back in the day – has been playing golf for well over 40 years.

“I started when I was 14,” he said. “I could have played earlier because my dad and grandad both played, they were very good. It was a couple of weeks before my 14th birthday and I didn’t know what I wanted as a present so I said I’d like a set of golf clubs.”

And Stephens, who hails from Shropshire, has never looked back even though golf has never been his number one sport.

“I played rugby for a long time,” he said, “rugby was my first love. If someone had told me after I’d played my last game of rugby that I could have just one more game at my peak and not play golf again then I would happily have taken it.”

And he played rugby to a good level because after joining the Navy at the age of 16 he went on become a regular in the United Services team.

“I was a no. 8 although towards the end of my career when I got a bit slower I moved to the second row,” he said. “I played most of my time at United Services but I also played for Devonport Services and Darlington.”

His rugby-playing days were behind him when he moved to Stonehouse in September 1999 with his wife Sarah and son Ben, who was then aged two.

But his golf certainly wasn’t and he soon joined Minchinhampton Golf Club where he was chairman for three years as well as serving on various committees.

His wife and son are both members of the club as well and are also good golfers.

It certainly seems to run in the family because Stephens’ dad was a three-handicapper on the old system while his grandad was still a single-figure golfer when he was 80.

Sarah, meanwhile, has played a lot more golf over the past 10 years or so.

“She’s a very good 16-handicapper” said her husband.

“She used to be a very good club standard triathlete. She was in the Army and also played tennis for the Army. She could be really, really good at golf but doesn’t want to take it too seriously.”

Young Ben currently plays off five but, just like his dad, he prefers his rugby to golf.

“He only plays golf in the summer when there’s no rugby,” said his dad. “He plays second row for Stroud and at 6ft 7in, he’s king of the lineout!”

Stephens is a regular supporter of Ben’s rugby and it has given him the opportunity to meet up with some old faces from his own time playing rugby.

“United Services used to play Stroud and I remember playing against Rupert Foote who is now the club’s director of rugby,” recalled Stephens.

He also remembers playing against John Williams, a member of Minchinhampton Golf Club and also a past captain of the golf club.

“He was captain the first time I played against Stroud,” continued Stephens. He was a great player. He played for Cheltenham and Cinderford as well and was one of those players who covered an awful lot of ground, he was everywhere.”

Stephens’ golf commitments with Gloucestershire Seniors, meanwhile, take him pretty much everywhere across the South West and into Wales.

“We play against Cornwall, Devon, Gwent, Glamorgan, Wiltshire and Somerset in the Channel League,” he said. “Matches are 10-a-side – 9-hole foursomes and 18-hole singles – and we draw on players from all over the county.”

The seniors also compete in the South West qualifier, which they won a number of times, including three years ago to qualify for the English Seniors County Finals at Goswick in Northumberland against Yorkshire, Warwickshire and Sussex.

Stephens freely admits that playing seniors golf has given him a new lease of life.

“You’re playing against people the same age as you,” he explained. “You’re not playing against people who can hit the ball 100 yards past you. For the previous 10 or 15 years I’d been playing against young, full-time players.

“They’d be amateur but they’d be playing the game full-time.”

The hope for some of those youngsters was that they’d make it in the professional game, something that very few manage of course.

Stephens remembers playing against former Ryder Cup player Peter Baker at his old club Lilleshall Hall in Shropshire, a county where major winners Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam played a lot of their early golf.

Walker Cup player Phil Parkin was another – “He was one of the best players,” recalled Stephens – and like Baker, Woosie and Lyle, Parkin got to play all over the world.

Stephens has been lucky enough to play in many places across the globe as well and ask him for his favourite course and he’ll say with little hesitation “Pebble Beach”.

“It’s not the best golf course but it’s a wonderful place to play golf,” he said.

It helps that he’s also played rather well when he’s been there as well.

“I played in a pro-am and if I’d have been in the pro section I’d have been third,” he said with obvious pride. “Another day I won the amateur event and there was only one pro better than me and another day I had the best gross score of everyone.”

Not bad for someone who prefers rugby!

And while golf may be second best for Stephens, it’s a very, very good second best.

Back in the day he played golf for the Royal Navy -- he served for over 16 years – and played Inter Services Golf in the annual tournament against the Army and the RAF on several occasions.

After leaving the Navy he settled in Darlington and played golf at Catterick before moving down to this part of the world.

“I thoroughly enjoy playing golf,” he said. “I enjoyed playing with my dad and now I’m thoroughly enjoying playing with my son, it’s a great game.”