Good old crossword setter: lad’s flipping getting top award (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
gold medal
'top award' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'good old crossword setter lad's flipping' is the wordplay.
'good' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'crossword setter' becomes 'me' (referring to the person writing the clues).
'flipping' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'lad' reversed gives 'dal'.
'g'+'old'+'me'+'dal'='GOLD MEDAL'
'getting' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for gold medal that I've seen before include "top award" , "prize for winning" , "Victor may get one" , "Award for Olympic winner" , "First prize" .)