"It's 49 years since the biggest win of my golfing career and a lot of water has passed under the bridge in that time. It is nice to refresh the memory of the greatest act of my golfing career."
Charles' win at the Open is well known, but his consistency in the majors is less so. He finished in the top three six times - he was third at the 1964 and 1970 US Opens, runner up at the Open in 1968 and 1969 and in 1968 he finished second at the US PGA Championship only one shot behind Julius Boros.
"I came close to winning a major championship on several other occasions with three runner-up finishes and two third places in majors so, in that regard, to win at Lytham was obviously very special."
While his plans for the 140th Open are relatively low-key, Charles plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his win in 2013.
"What I plan to do is travel to Lytham next year, which will be the 50 year anniversary of my win in the Open, with my son David who has never played the course and daughter. The three of us together to enjoy that anniversary will be a really special time, I think."
Charles believes the world's oldest golf tournament was harder to win back in his day.
"In those days, everybody had to pre-qualify for the event so it was tough to qualify for the championship," he says. "There were hundreds of good golfers playing for the spots in the Open Championship, so when you made the field the tournament began.
"You played 18 holes on Wednesday and Thursday and then a Thursday night cut was made. The final two rounds were played on the Friday so it was a tiring week finishing off with 36 holes. To do it again in the 36 hole playoff on the Saturday was a real test and my fitness was a great asset."
So too was his confidence. Charles had made a name for himself earlier in 1963 when he became the first left hander to win on the PGA Tour when he won the Houston Classic.
"I came to the Open with a lot of confidence after winning at Houston. In that event I beat Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer, who were considered the Big Three at the time, and between them all won a lot on the PGA Tour.
"Jack was right in contention to win there so to hold him off and win was a good achievement. Heading into the Open Championship at Lytham those three players and Peter Thomson and Kel Nagle were considered the players to beat. When I got into contention and Jack was there again I had confidence that I could beat him.
"One shot I remember is hitting a six iron to the 72nd hole and hitting it on the green. I two-putted the 18th for par to match Phil Rodgers and beat Jack Nicklaus by one stroke. I was pretty proud of that effort."
Charles captured headlines recently when he beat his age by 10 shots at Bad Ragaz Senior Open on the Senior European Tour in Switzerland with a fine four under par 66.
"I was a bit of a one-day wonder," he says. "The first day I felt like a 36-year-old and then on the second and third days I started to feel my age. It was a lot of fun. I was playing alongside my good friend Gary Player and Maurice Bembridge.
"My game was firing on all cylinders. I was hitting the fairways in regulation and driving the ball well, hitting my iron shots cleanly and the putter was co-operating as well. It was a special day and nice to string it all together. I came back down to Earth pretty quickly but it was nice to compete again at my age."
