I kind of got the impression that Tom was the spirit of the Old Forest. He says he has been there since it began, he never goes far from it, and he obviously knows how to control or work with it which is shown by the tree that captures Pippin and his wife the stream lady (sorry I forget her name).
I'm not sure about that cause I've only read it once and not in depth but if he is the spirit of the forest I would say the rings don't affect him because he is part of a magic far higher than any that elves or anyone else created.
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