Golfers talk about being “in the zone”, but on a bright afternoon at Fairhaven Golf Club, 64-year-old Allan Harrison found something rarer — a stretch of golf so pure it bordered on the unbelievable.
Allan fired seven consecutive birdies and eight in nine holes during the Silver Pheasant at Fairhaven Golf Club – in what was so nearly a stretch of nine straight birdies – which is understood to be the record in the game of golf.
Yet it began in the most ordinary way imaginable…
“I was 4-over after the front nine,” Harrison recalled. “I went into the halfway house, had a pasty and a drink, and the lads laughed when I said I’d start the back nine fresh!”
Fresh turned out to be an understatement.
Allan fired seven consecutive birdies and eight in nine holes during the Silver Pheasant at Fairhaven Golf Club – in what was so nearly a stretch of nine straight birdies – which is understood to be the record in the game of golf.
Yet it began in the most ordinary way imaginable…
“I was 4-over after the front nine,” Harrison recalled. “I went into the halfway house, had a pasty and a drink, and the lads laughed when I said I’d start the back nine fresh!”
Fresh turned out to be an understatement.
The Birdie Avalanche Begins
On the 10th tee, Harrison stiffed his approach to six feet and rolled in the first birdie. His playing partner — a good friend — grinned: “That’s a good start!”
The par-5 11th brought another birdie after a neat chip to four feet. At the 12th, Harrison holed his longest putt of the day — a 12-footer that “just dropped in the can”.
His partners looked at him with raised eyebrows. Harrison, ever the storyteller, couldn’t resist: “I joked that I’d had seven in a row before, about 18 months ago at Southport & Ainsdale. They looked at me like: ‘Really?’”
On that day, one of the group, a 14-handicapper, was so impressed he asked if Harrison was free for the next four-ball competition. Harrison agreed — and then didn’t make a single birdie that day. “He was a bit disappointed in me!” he laughed.
The 13th then fell to another birdie. The 14th, with its tricky front-to-back slope, was tamed with an approach to three feet. On 15, a tidy chip left another tap-in.
Then came the 16th — a long, demanding par-4. Harrison struck a pure 4-iron to ten feet and holed the putt. Seven birdies in a row, matched only by his extraordinary run at Southport & Ainsdale. His playing partners were now fully invested. “They were cheering me on, saying I had a chance at eight to break my own record.”
The 17th, a 157-yard par-3, came agonisingly close to delivering. Harrison’s 7-iron pitched a foot from the hole, but ran six feet past. He misread the putt — the only blemish in the sequence. He added: “My playing partner pointed out the pitch mark and said I must’ve nearly holed out - but it ran six feet past and I misread the putt.”
But on 18, he added one more. After avoiding newly-placed bunkers, he found himself blocked by a tree and had to manufacture a back-foot long-iron, leaving 60 yards over a trap. He clipped a lob-wedge to a foot.
Allan continued: “Ian Crowder, an ex-England player, was laughing by the pin saying how unbelievable it was — ‘He’s got another one!’”Eight birdies in nine holes. Nearly nine in ten. A once-in-a-lifetime stretch — except Harrison has done it twice!
A Missed Opportunity — But No Regrets
On the 10th tee, Harrison stiffed his approach to six feet and rolled in the first birdie. His playing partner — a good friend — grinned: “That’s a good start!”
The par-5 11th brought another birdie after a neat chip to four feet. At the 12th, Harrison holed his longest putt of the day — a 12-footer that “just dropped in the can”.
His partners looked at him with raised eyebrows. Harrison, ever the storyteller, couldn’t resist: “I joked that I’d had seven in a row before, about 18 months ago at Southport & Ainsdale. They looked at me like: ‘Really?’”
On that day, one of the group, a 14-handicapper, was so impressed he asked if Harrison was free for the next four-ball competition. Harrison agreed — and then didn’t make a single birdie that day. “He was a bit disappointed in me!” he laughed.
The 13th then fell to another birdie. The 14th, with its tricky front-to-back slope, was tamed with an approach to three feet. On 15, a tidy chip left another tap-in.
Then came the 16th — a long, demanding par-4. Harrison struck a pure 4-iron to ten feet and holed the putt. Seven birdies in a row, matched only by his extraordinary run at Southport & Ainsdale. His playing partners were now fully invested. “They were cheering me on, saying I had a chance at eight to break my own record.”
The 17th, a 157-yard par-3, came agonisingly close to delivering. Harrison’s 7-iron pitched a foot from the hole, but ran six feet past. He misread the putt — the only blemish in the sequence. He added: “My playing partner pointed out the pitch mark and said I must’ve nearly holed out - but it ran six feet past and I misread the putt.”
But on 18, he added one more. After avoiding newly-placed bunkers, he found himself blocked by a tree and had to manufacture a back-foot long-iron, leaving 60 yards over a trap. He clipped a lob-wedge to a foot.
Allan continued: “Ian Crowder, an ex-England player, was laughing by the pin saying how unbelievable it was — ‘He’s got another one!’”Eight birdies in nine holes. Nearly nine in ten. A once-in-a-lifetime stretch — except Harrison has done it twice!
A Missed Opportunity — But No Regrets
Despite the fireworks on day one as he led the event with 40 points, Harrison finished runner-up after he couldn’t produce the same kind of heroics on day two.
Running two businesses, he’d spent the morning chasing accountants over payroll errors. “I was sending emails on the bench at 10, trying to get wages sorted. I double-bogeyed 10 and 11 because my mind was on work. My coach gave me a rollocking — saying I know I do better when I concentrate!”
He laughs about it now, but the four dropped shots proved costly. Still, he insists the right man won. “If anyone deserved it, it was Bryan (Hughes). He won the British Amateur in 2017 and it’s been tough for him since with his health. I don’t begrudge him at all.”
A Lifetime of Moments
Harrison’s golfing life is dotted with extraordinary stories. He once shot 68 at Wallasey in the Frank Stableford. In his 40s, he made an extraordinary nine consecutive 2s at Southport & Ainsdale — four par-3s birdied in two straight competitions, and then a crowd gathered on the third attempt to see if he could do it again on the 1st. He did just that!
He was also Tommy Fleetwood’s scratch foursomes partner at Southport & Ainsdale. He revealed: “No one ever beat us. I saw Tommy a few years ago and joked, ‘I see you got better, and I’ve got worse!’”
Worse is relative. At 64, Harrison is still producing golf that borders on the spectacular. “You don’t get opportunities like that every week,” he said, reflecting on the near-miss at Fairhaven.
“It would’ve been nice to win, but it was still a nice afternoon.”
See Allan's scorecard here.
Why 8 Out of 9 is Astronomical
A streak of eight birdies in a nine-hole stretch like Allan's happens very rarely in professional golf - let alone amateur golf.
England Golf stats from the MyEG app across January to July 2026 show that golfers with a handicap below 0.0 (Allan's WHS Index is 0.4), the average birdies per 18-hole round is 2.74. If you halve that for nine holes - the average would be 1.37 per round.
As the table below, shows, the odds were more than 1 in 455,000 for Alan - while in general, the odds across all golfers is a staggering 1 in 322 billion.
Running two businesses, he’d spent the morning chasing accountants over payroll errors. “I was sending emails on the bench at 10, trying to get wages sorted. I double-bogeyed 10 and 11 because my mind was on work. My coach gave me a rollocking — saying I know I do better when I concentrate!”
He laughs about it now, but the four dropped shots proved costly. Still, he insists the right man won. “If anyone deserved it, it was Bryan (Hughes). He won the British Amateur in 2017 and it’s been tough for him since with his health. I don’t begrudge him at all.”
A Lifetime of Moments
Harrison’s golfing life is dotted with extraordinary stories. He once shot 68 at Wallasey in the Frank Stableford. In his 40s, he made an extraordinary nine consecutive 2s at Southport & Ainsdale — four par-3s birdied in two straight competitions, and then a crowd gathered on the third attempt to see if he could do it again on the 1st. He did just that!
He was also Tommy Fleetwood’s scratch foursomes partner at Southport & Ainsdale. He revealed: “No one ever beat us. I saw Tommy a few years ago and joked, ‘I see you got better, and I’ve got worse!’”
Worse is relative. At 64, Harrison is still producing golf that borders on the spectacular. “You don’t get opportunities like that every week,” he said, reflecting on the near-miss at Fairhaven.
“It would’ve been nice to win, but it was still a nice afternoon.”
See Allan's scorecard here.
Why 8 Out of 9 is Astronomical
A streak of eight birdies in a nine-hole stretch like Allan's happens very rarely in professional golf - let alone amateur golf.
England Golf stats from the MyEG app across January to July 2026 show that golfers with a handicap below 0.0 (Allan's WHS Index is 0.4), the average birdies per 18-hole round is 2.74. If you halve that for nine holes - the average would be 1.37 per round.
As the table below, shows, the odds were more than 1 in 455,000 for Alan - while in general, the odds across all golfers is a staggering 1 in 322 billion.
Even the leader in birdie average on the PGA Tour typically hovers around 4.8 to 5.0 birdies per 18 holes (about 2.5 per 9 holes). Alan enjoyed eight!
The PGA Tour record for consecutive birdies is nine, achieved by Mark Calcavecchia (2009 Canadian Open at Glen Abbey) and Kevin Chappell (2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier) - and those were spread across the front and back nine of their respective rounds.
Seven straight birdies, eight in nine holes - a back nine that will live long in Fairhaven folklore. For most golfers, it would be the story of a lifetime. For Allan Harrison, it’s just another chapter in a career full of them.
The PGA Tour record for consecutive birdies is nine, achieved by Mark Calcavecchia (2009 Canadian Open at Glen Abbey) and Kevin Chappell (2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier) - and those were spread across the front and back nine of their respective rounds.
Seven straight birdies, eight in nine holes - a back nine that will live long in Fairhaven folklore. For most golfers, it would be the story of a lifetime. For Allan Harrison, it’s just another chapter in a career full of them.
ENDS
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org