GOLF Magazine‘s inaugural ranking of the finest courses in Asia-Pacific is long overdue. Not only does the region boast an eclectic mix of architecture, but it’s also home to some of the finest designs built this century. To say the course-build­ing business in the lands where the sun rises first is booming would be an understatement.

The ease of modern travel makes this region more attainable than ever. We trust that this ranking will help with future trips. Akin to golf in the United Kingdom, a proper letter of introduction gains you access to a majority of the region’s finest courses, which makes this ranking even more meaningful and practical. It’s a long flight, but you’ll return with lifetime memories.

What are you waiting for?

More GOLF course rankings: Top 100 Courses in the World | Top 100 Courses in the U.S. | Top 100 Courses You Can Play | Top 100 Value Courses in the U.S. | America’s Best Municipal Courses | Top 100 Courses in the U.K. and Ireland | Top 100 Short Courses in the World

Methodology: How we rate courses | Meet our expert raters

Ed. note: Unless otherwise noted, the course descriptions below were written by Ran Morrissett.

1. Royal Melbourne (West)
Blackrock, Australia
Alister MacKenzie, 1926

Beside the club parking area is the horse-drawn plough and scoop that was used to slowly construct what some people consider to be the finest course in the world, let alone Asia-Pacific: the West Course at Royal Melbourne. Because construction played out over a four-year period, the tie-ins are gorgeous, meaning the transition between where nature stops and man’s hand begins is nearly indiscernible. The bunkers are steep-faced and chew into the putting surfaces. The sand is compact too, so to short-side yourself is to likely cost yourself a stroke. How refreshing to find hazards that play as hazards! Standout holes abound, including the short par-4 3rd with its green that falls away; the ½-par 4th that plays up and over the crest of a hill; the photogenic one-shot 5th; and one of the game’s quintessential doglegs, the 6th, which sweeps right around a large native area to a fiercely contoured green. The course embodies all of Alister MacKenzie’s design ideals, even though he was in the country for only nine weeks.

Gary Lisbon

2. Kingston Heath
Cheltenham, Australia
Dan Soutar, 1925; Alister MacKenzie, 1926

Dan Soutar, Mick Morcom and Alister MacKenzie each played a key role in creating a visual feast and a strategic masterpiece, helped in large measure by the site’s critical virtue of sitting on sandy soil. Any modern architect should spend time here, studying how Kingston Heath’s creators teased so much from land that is neither rambunctious nor expansive. It’s no wonder this course is a darling among design aficionados. A stellar collection of two-shot holes pose the full range of questions. Among the other standout holes are the par-5 7th with its exasperating swale in front; the tiny par-3 10th played over scrub; and the uphill one-shot 15th played across a series of bunkers that are a masterclass of presentation.  

Airswing Media

3. Tara Iti
Te Arai, New Zealand
Tom Doak, 2015

Tara Iti jumped onto our World list in 2017 as one of our highest debuting courses ever. Then it moved higher still. The course is buoyed by its enviable location in the dunes along the Pacific Ocean, along with superior fine-fescue fairways and swirls of natural grass and sand. The design is loaded with remarkable holes. The punchbowl 3rd green is something that must be experienced firsthand with its design highlighting the joys of a ball careening this way and that along the ground. Two of Tara Iti’s one-shotters — the 15th and 17th — are hyper-photogenic as they play to greens along the coast. Another of the course’s finest moments comes at the long uphill 12th, which plays away from the water to an open, tilted green that is 7 feet higher on its right than left. The tight playing surfaces combine with architecture that dazzles even when one’s back is to the Pacific.  

Jacob Sjöman

4. Hirono
Miki-Chi, Japan
C.H. Alison/Chozu Ito, 1932; Martin Ebert, 2019

Japanese golfers had never seen the kind of deep, strategically placed bunkers that architect C.H. Alison introduced to Hirono in the early 1930s — so much so that this style of bunkers became known as “Alisons.” Originally, the course bore a sandy, scrubby appearance akin to Pine Valley (where Alison consulted), but tree planting changed Hirono’s character over the decades. Thankfully, Martin Ebert’s 2019 restoration effort reestablished sand as a dominant theme. No one seems to agree on which is its best par-3, as they are all outstanding. Certainly, the Fjord 5th across a lake and the Devil’s Divot 7th played across a gulley with a series of menacing bunkers cut into the far face are as good a pair of one-shotters as you’ll find on any outward nine. Another standout hole is the par-5 15th, where a central-hazard tree followed by a ravine put great pressure on the player’s second shot. From inception, Hirono set the standard for design excellence and all other Japanese courses have been measured against it since. 

5. Barnbougle Dunes
Bridport, Australia
Tom Doak/Mike Clayton, 2004

Australia’s greatest links continually achieves top status thanks to a sophisticated design coupled with a stirring seaside setting with holes nestled in large dunes that run parallel to the ocean. Each nine fans from opposing sides of the clubhouse. The dunes extend inland “only” some 350 yards and the architects did a fabulous job in having the holes flow across them in every conceivable manner. One highlight is the short, 122-yard 7th, which is the Southern Hemisphere’s equivalent to Royal Troon’s devilish Postage Stamp hole. One of its design tricks is that it heads in a different direction from any previous hole, meaning golfers don’t have a good read on the wind before hitting a short iron toward the green ringed by deep bunkers – and worse. The drivable 300-yard 4th is another instant classic, featuring a natural blowout bunker in the foreground that must be carried while avoiding two smaller — though equally penal — bunkers on the left closer to a green perfectly placed in a natural saddle. 

Larry Lambrecht

6. Kawana (Fuji)
Ito, Japan
C.H. Alison/Komyo Ohtani/Kinya Fujita, 1936

There are no guarantees a great course will emerge from a great site. Routing a course — making all 18 holes connect while simultaneously complementing one another — requires vision and talent. It is a true gift and the primary differentiator between being a good architect and an elite one. In the case of the Kawana Resort, its owner, Baron Okura, did not think that the original routing took full advantage of the site’s wonders, which range from views of snowcapped Mt. Fuji to cliff-top panoramas of the Pacific Ocean. Therefore, he organized for C.H. Alison to scout the property while he was working at Tokyo GC. Alison developed a different routing and several years later the course was built under the expert guidance of Koymo Ohtani and Kinya Fujita. The result is what some people consider to be their favorite course along the Pacific Ocean — including California and Oregon! There isn’t a single weak hole, and the golfer eventually runs out of superlatives when describing how well this undulating land was utilized. Recent tree clearing along the perimeter has enhanced the site’s phenomenal coastal setting. Just look at this view of the 7th hole; a decade ago, trees behind the green blocked off this water view. 

Courtesy Kawana Resort

7. Te Arai (South)
Tomarata, New Zealand
Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 2022

Te Arai South is soon to form half of the Te Arai resort alongside the Tom Doak-designed Te Arai North opening in late 2023. Paired with their cousin just along the coast (Tara Iti), this stretch of coastline north of Auckland will soon rank among the world’s dream golf destinations. “Playing Te Arai South is a beautiful experience where the linksland rises perfectly from the beach, mesmerizing the golfer with white sand below, the Pacific Ocean beyond and the islands in the distance. While the early holes dance in and out of the woods, from the 5th hole onward, Te Arai South unfolds into a mind-bendingly fun stretch of coastal golf featuring thrilling short holes, an array of fun short par-4s and some bold, diverse, restrained and zany greens punctuated by the Sitwell-inspired 16th. No commentary on the South course at Te Arai is complete without a nod to the wee 17th, which, no matter how hard the wind is blowing, is one of the greatest 100-yard holes in world golf. — Michael Goldstein, GOLF panelist

Gary Lisbon

8. Royal Melbourne (East)
Black Rock, Australia
Alex Russell/Mick Morcom, 1932

Confident in his own work, Alister MacKenzie freely lauded the work of others. In the United States, he considered Perry Maxwell to be as talented as anyone; in Australia, his man was Alex Russell, who deserves full credit for the East Course, in addition to Paraparaumu Beach (No. 17), Lake Karrinyup (No. 36) and other gems in Australia and New Zealand, including Yarra Yarra (No. 44). The panel’s appreciation of the East Course raises the question: What club offers the finest 36-hole day in golf at one location? Though many champion Winged Foot, Sunningdale and Baltusrol, it is hard to argue that Royal Melbourne isn’t the pick of the bunch.

David Cannon/Getty Images

9. Victoria
Cheltenham, Australia
Alister MacKenzie, 1927; Ogilvy Clayton Cocking & Mead, 2019

Many courses worldwide built before 1940 have been undergoing thoughtful restorations. Victoria is a sterling example, with Mike Clayton meticulously overseeing much of the work over a 20-year period. Today, Victoria enjoys the style of golf that Alister MacKenzie introduced to Australia through his work across the road at Royal Melbourne.  The bunkers and waste areas reflect a Golden Age aesthetic, green undulations and surrounds are both fun and challenging and the overall conditions are as firm and fast as any in the Sandbelt. The club’s leadership and agronomy team also deserve credit for only fostering indigenous vegetation on the property while removing all other forms that had crept in over the decades. The short par-4s at the 1st and the 15th stand out even in a neighborhood full of such risk/reward holes. And the short green-to-tee walks make Victoria a walker’s paradise. — Pete Phipps, GOLF panelist

Gary Lisbon

10. New South Wales
La Perouse, Australia
Alister MacKenzie/Eric Apperly, 1947

Sydney’s magnificent Harbour Bridge and Opera House speak to a city of impossible beauty, and the course at La Perouse is its crowning golf offering. The middle of each nine features holes along the rugged shoreline. The two most famous holes are the par-5 5th, with its long, downward sloping fairway toward the Pacific, and the 195-yard 6th that plays over an inlet of Cape Banks. But the stretch from 13 to 16 is as good a run of par-4s as you will find anywhere.

Gary Lisbon

11. Cape Kidnappers
Te Awanga, New Zealand
Tom Doak, 2004

Drone shots of this course are evocative, showing holes on fingers of land hundreds of feet above the swirling Pacific Ocean. But golf is played from the ground, not the air, and that works just fine here with the site’s tumbling landforms. The course’s most famous hole is also its most feared: the 650-yard, par-5 15th, which falls away on both sides of the fairway and sports a horizon green perched precariously on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Architecture buffs are likely to be just as captivated by the playing angles at the preceding hole, a short two-shotter with a Road Hole green complex. 

Joann Dost

12. The Club at Nine Bridges
Jeju Island, South Korea
Ron Fream/David Dale, 2001

Nine Bridges’ appeal starts with its tranquil setting on Jeju island, with holes etched into pine-clad rolling topography in the shadows of Mount Halla, Korea’s tallest peak. Lakes, creeks and wooded slopes not only contribute to the beauty and variety but also are seamlessly integrated into the design. Nine Bridges routinely hosts important professional and amateur events, and the contestants uniformly praise both its challenge and presentation.

Nate Gardner

13. Shanqin Bay
Hainan, China
Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 2012

A tropical island in the south China sea may be an unlikely location for world-class golf but Hainan Island features a plethora of dramatic landforms: steep stretches of rolling farmland, a broad canyon, majestic sand dunes and dense vegetation. Shanqin Bay’s routing, bordered by the sea on three sides, embraces all of these geomorphic features creating a thrilling 18-hole ride. The tumultuous journey takes golfers high on a cliffside and hill where stunning ocean views prevail and dips and turns into valleys and ravines bordered by unyielding native vines and grasses. There’s a pleasant mix of long and short holes that hug the land and are simultaneously natural and strategic. Fairway bunkering is relatively sparse as befits the terrain. Greens are strewn over both high and low land, creating a wonderful, motley array of approach shots. The interior holes may lack the visual drama of those on cliff and beach but do not cede any shot value or playing interest. At Shanqin Bay, Coore and Crenshaw turned hostile geography into an exalted playground for golf. — Joe Andriole, GOLF panelist

Gary Lisbon

14. South Cape Owners Club
Namhae-gun, South Korea
Kyle Phillips, 2013

American designer Kyle Phillips’ work has dazzled at such diverse geographic locations as the California Golf Club of San Francisco, Kingsbarns in Scotland and Yaz Links in Abu Dhabi. Add in this South Korean course and you start to gain a sense of Phillips’ global footprint. Working for business magnate Jae Bong Chung, Phillips was given a sprawling coastal site complete with cliffs on an island just off the South Korean peninsula. You might assume the highlights are the par-5 6th, which twists uphill past rocks and large sandscapes, and the 220-yard 7th, which plays out over the sea. But then you arrive at the stretch from 13 to 16. The 16th is Asia’s equivalent of 16 at Cypress Point, and there is a legitimate debate as to which is finer. No surprise given its owner, but the clean lines and décor of the clubhouse and lodging show immaculate taste, and the music library is a can’t miss. 

Joann Dost

15. Cape Wickham
King Island, Australia
Mike Devries/Darius Oliver, 2015

Wickham wows with an opening stretch of seaside headland holes, three par-3s that skirt the sea and a Cape-style 18th that demands a bite-off-as-much-as-you-dare drive over Victoria Cove. Set on the northern end of King Island in the Bass Strait between Tasmania and mainland Australia, this course and Ocean Dunes (No. 39) occupy the windiest spots of any on our list. Wickham compensates with wide landing areas and greens that are open in front, meaning golfers are guaranteed to have fun, be they in a one-club wind — or five! Either way, you are set for a day of lasting memories.

Gary Lisbon

16. Barnbougle Lost Farm
Bridport, Australia
Bill Coore/ben crenshaw, 2010

Unlike its sister course Barnbougle Dunes where the holes run up and down the coast within a narrow band of dunes, the routing here defies description, with holes to-ing and fro-ing in every direction, culminating with the par-5 12th set 1,300 yards from the coastline. With the wind whipping off the Bass Strait, you need to make constant allowances for how the wind impacts each hole. The gorgeous, tiny par-3 4th kicks off the course’s finest four-hole stretch, but the pièce de résistance is Coore’s work in the flats, namely the 2nd and 12th greens and the outrageously clever par-4 16th. The course storms home from there with a long par-3 to a green benched high in the dunes and a long two-shotter that tumbles over land to an open green that is much deeper than it is wide. 

Gary Lisbon

17. Paraparaumu Beach
Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand
Alex Russell, 1949

“Alex Russell, the one-time design associate of Alister MacKenzie, is an oft-overlooked actor within the top echelon of golf in Australasia. Russell’s crowning glory was at Paraparaumu Beach, where in 1948 — arguably drawing the curtain on the golden age of golf architecture — his life in golf culminated in creating one of the world’s premier links. “Though Paraparaumu Beach may lack the stunning vistas of the modern masterpieces of New Zealand golf,  its routing is one for the purists where restraint balances against its epic, rumpled landforms. Paraparaumu is a seamless stroll through the dunes which are of perfect scale for walkable golf. While most reviews emphasize Paraparaumu’s short holes (notably the 16th to a deep but slender green), the real depth of strategic design comes from the diversity found within its two-shot holes, most notably the rumpled drivable 6th; the whimsical drive-and-pitch 8th; the rollicking 13th; and the strategic dogleg 17th. Once a bit overgrown and spongy, today’s course soars under strong custodianship — the trees are gone allowing the native wastelands to flourish and the playing corridors are once again firm and bouncy. It’s proper links golf of the highest order. — Michael Goldstein, GOLF panelist

David Cannon/Getty Images

18. Ellerston
Hunter Valley, Australia
Greg Norman/Bob Harrison, 2001

Greg Norman always professed his admiration for Alister MacKenzie. At ultra-exclusive Ellerston, he and design partner Bob Harrison adapted MacKenzie strategies and bunker stylings on a rugged landscape, resulting in one of the strongest, most option-laden tests in the Southern Hemisphere. Forced carries over ravines, greens set along ridge tops and the influence of Pages Creek add to the challenge. Few golfers can access to the course, which is shame given there is so much to admire architecturally. 

getty images

19. Tokyo
Sayama City, Japan
Komyo Ohtani, 1940; Gil Hanse, 2018

The only word that does this course and club justice is elegant. The existing course is in the club’s third location, and even though C.H. Alison designed the second iteration, today’s course offers even better golf. Koymo Ohtani, who closely studied and worked with Alison, deserves primary credit. He routed today’s course — anchored by a world-class collection of par-5s — and later a second green was added to each hole, with the goal of having one green with a warm weather grass and another with a cool weather variety. That made sense in that era but improvements in agronomy have rendered that approach moot. Still, the two-green system flourishes thanks to work done several years ago by Gil Hanse and Neil Cameron. At the par-3 4th, you play from the upper-right tee to the lower-left green, or you play from the lower-left tee to the upper-right green. Elsewhere, at the 6th, you can bounce a ball onto the open lower-left green that is at grade with the fairway with a creek hugging the green’s left side. But the upper-right plateau green with deep guarding bunkers poses an entirely different ask. Tokyo GC occupies an expansive piece of property, which is precisely what is required to pull off such an elaborate two-green system. First-timer visitors to Tokyo GC will leave yearning for more two-green courses, though this design will always be in a class by itself. 

courtesy tokyo GC

20. Royal Adelaide
Adelaide, Australia
H. Rymill/C. Gardner, 1906; Alister MacKenzie, 1926

A dune system in the middle of the property was put to perfect use with holes fanning in and out of it on both nines. You haven’t seen the best holes in Australia until you play the short par-4 3rd and the par 4-11th with its interrupted fairway that requires a shot over broken ground to a green nestled at the base of a large dune. Other highlights include the pugnacious par-3 7th green, which is ringed by eight bunkers and plays toward the sea less than 2 miles away. A tram line bisects the course, and the best hole on the east side of it is surely the dogleg-right 14th that features another interrupted fairway. The course and the club exude Old World charm. 

courtesy royal adelaide

21. Naruo
Kawanishi, Japan
Joe Crane/Harry Crane/Bertie crane, 1930; C.H. Alison, 1931

22. Peninsula Kingswood (North)
Frankston, Australia
Sloan Morpeth, 1965; Ogilvy Clayton Cocking & Mead, 2018

23. Himalayan
Pokhara, Nepal
R.B. Gurung, 1994

In a country known for trekking, golf architect one-hit-wonder Major Ram Gurung delivers a stunning walk across unirrigated ground in the sub-tropical region of Pokhara, Nepal. Holes run back and forth across the Bijaypur River, which flows downhill from the Annapurna mountain peak more than 26,000 above sea level.  The ledge-top descent into the canyon at the 3rd amounts to the start of an escape from civilization for the next couple of hours. Strategic options abound at a hole like the 6th, a long par-5 with decisions about where to place your tee ball alongside whitewater rapids, followed by a choice to go for the green on your second shot. Heroics and skill are required to play the angles properly and to keep your ball dry if you want an eagle putt. If the 6th hole delivers foolish temptation, then the uphill, 150-yard 7th is about caution.  The green is partially hidden on a plateau with wild vegetation growing out of the rocky precipice. Survive by playing your tee shot to the center of green. Did you make the carry from up there? Walk across the river and climb the ledge to find out. The flow and rhythm of the holes and how they relate to one another are excellent throughout. The ascent back to civilization — on the 16th-hole tee shot across a chasm — requires a moment of pause. You can’t find this brand of excitement anywhere else. — Tom Brown, GOLF panelist

Jon Wall

24. St. Andrews Beach
St. Andrews Beach, Australia
Tom Doak/Mike Clayton, 2004

25. The National (Moonah)
Cape Schanck, Australia
Greg Norman/Bob Harrison, 2000

26. Yokohama (West)
Yokohama, Japan
Takeo Aiyama, 1958; Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw, 2016

27. The National (Gunnamatta)
Cape Schanck, Australia
Thomson Wolveridge & Perrett, 2000; Tom Doak, 2019

28. Kasumigaseki (East)
Kawagoe, Japan
Kinya Fujita/Shiro Akaboshi, 1929; Tom Fazio/Logan Fazio, 2016

29. Newcastle
Fern Bay, Australia
Fred Popplewell Sr., 1915; Eric Apperly, 1932

30. Lanhai Int’l (Yangtze Dunes)
Chongming Island, China
Jack Nicklaus, 2011; Ogilvy Clayton Cocking & Mead, 2018

Nick Wall

31. Metropolitan
South Oakleigh, Australia
J.B. MacKenzie, 1908; Dick Wilson, 1960

32. Ono
Ono, Japan
Osamu Ueda, 1961

Ono GC was established after the war as a sister club of Hirono by Toyohiko Inui, the founder and developer of Hirono GC. Inui chose Osamu Ueda, who had restored Hirono, to design the course. The front nine is on relatively gentle terrain facing the huge Oike Pond, which is strategically incorporated into holes 7, 8, and 9. The back nine is laid out on slightly hilly terrain with the 10th being especially handsome thanks to its well-placed bunkers. The next hole features a pine tree as a central hazard, a favorite design ploy of Ueda’s (he did the same at holes 4 and 7). At the 11th, the pine stands at the dogleg point and helps to make the hole a gentle double dogleg. Holes 14 and 15 flow uphill, and 16 is a gorgeous downhill heroic par-5. Many overseas visitors note how the par-3s (5, 8, 12 and 17) are all memorable and their individuality accentuates one’s impression of the course overall. Ono deserves its praise as a true hidden gem among classically designed Japanese courses. — Masa Nishijima, GOLF panelist

33. Hoiana Shores
Quang Nam, Vietnam
Robert Trent Jones Jr., 2020

34. Kauri Cliffs
Matauri Bay, New Zealand
David Harman, 2000

35. Abiko
Abiko, Japan
Rokuro & Shiro Akaboshi, 1931; Brian Silva/Kye Goalby, 2013

36. Lake Karrinyup
Karrinyup, Australia
Alex Russell, 1928; Mike Clayton, 2007

37. Whistling Rock (Temple/Cocoon)
Chuncheon, South Korea
Ted Robinson Jr., 2011; Eric Iverson, 2017

getty images

38. Ayodhya
Boh Talo, Thailand
Thomson & Perrett, 2007; Pitak Intrawityanunt, 2012

39. Ocean Dunes
King Island, Australia
Graeme Grant, 2016

40. Osaka
Misaki, Japan
Osamu Ueda, 1937

In 2013, Osamu Ueda’s masterpiece was revived with restoration advice from Japanese course architect Taizo Kawata. The removal of trees along the coastline opened panoramic views of Osaka Bay. Kawata was selective in what trees needed to be felled but he helped reveal a wonderful landscape, especially prominent at holes 3 and 7 that head toward the sea. Golfers now appreciate the gorgeous up-and-down seaside terrain. The course measures only 6,402 yards but is full of character. Take the 9th hole, a short par-5 of 477 yards that features a downhill tee shot into an attractive valley, followed by an uphill second shot whereby the golfer needs to decide whether to take the high-left or low-right portion of a spilt fairway. The back-nine’s drama intensifies at hole 13 where the fairway is diagonal and features a slightly uphill tee shot, with the approach shot played to a long green with greenside bunkers left and right and the sea behind. The next hole, a par-3 along the cliff, is equally photogenic. Ueda let the land dictate the pars, and its unusual par finish of 5-3-5-3 is part of Osaka’s charms. — Masa Nishijima, GOLF panelist

41. Woodlands
Mordialloc, Australia
J.D.H. Scott, 1919

42. Mission Hills (Blackstone)
Haikou, China
Brian Curley, 2010

43. Kooyonga
Lockleys, Australia
Herbert Rymill, 1923; Neil Crafter/Paul Mogford, 2012

44. Yarra Yarra
Bentleigh, Australia
Alex Russell, 1929; Tom Doak, 2021

45. Nikko
Nikko, Japan
Seiichi Inoue, 1955; Taizo Kawata, 2001

46. Peninsula Kingswood (South)
Frankston, Australia
Sloan Morpeth, 1965; Ogilvy Clayton Cocking & Mead, 2018

47. Stonehill
Sam Khok, Thailand
Kyle Phillips, 2022

48. Commonwealth
Oakleigh South, Australia
sam Bennett, 1921; Charles Lane, 1927; Sloan Morpeth, 1938

49. FLC Quang Binh (Forest Dunes)
Hai Ninh, Quang Binh, Vietnam
Brian Curley, 2018

Vietnam’s coast is the stuff of any architect’s dreams with sandy beaches giving way to rumpled dunes replete with coastal vegetation. The Quang Binh Resort occupies an enviable position along one such sandy stretch. Two of its courses — Forest Dunes and Ocean Dunes (No. 71) —make our ranking. Architect Brian Curley has designed scores of courses across Asia, and he considers this one of the finest sites with which he has worked. Still, any great site can be ruined by a crummy development plan, and that is decidedly not the case here. This is pure golf, with no development at the surrounds, leaving golfers free to soak up the bright white sands, ocean backdrops, pristine blue waters, clusters of dark trees and lush marshes. As it relates to the Forest Dunes course, Curley notes, “I hope some might consider this to be the most natural course in Asia as we didn’t create a single formal bunker. Instead, we used irregularly edged transitional sandy lows and dunes with splashes of native grasses that cut through the fairways at all sorts of angles. Many of the fairways are interconnected and the large greens have strong interior movement, kick-slopes and backstops, all of which promote the ground game, not to mention having fun.” The short par-4 7th is drivable and features two greens, one surrounded by sand and the other with a narrow lead-in of turf. Another standout hole is the par-4 15th that heads to sea, wrapping around a sandy marsh.

Brian Curley

50. Pine Beach (Pine/Beach)
Haenam, South Korea
G.R. Baird/David Dale, 2009

51. Ballyshear
Tambon Bang Bo, Thailand
Gil Hanse, 2022

Do you celebrate blind shots? How are you in the face of an unexpected bounce, or having to endure the rub of the green? At Ban Rakat Club — affectionately named Ballyshear — architect Gil Hanse created a welcome break from the norm course (especially for Asia) that poses such unconventional questions, with inspiration drawn from C.B. Macdonald’s historic-but-no-longer existing Lido course. Shapers transformed a flat site by moving sandy soil to create elevation changes. The par-5 6th hole with its alternate fairway is a triumph in design as it is so rare to find an alternate fairway that actually works — but if you accept the risk of finding the narrower right fairway, you are rewarded with a shorter shot to the green.  The course features several C.B. Macdonald-style template holes, and they thrive because of the bouncy conditions. Recent advances with zoysia grasses have transformed what is possible in Thailand’s climate; the firmness is produced by the low level of moisture percentage in the fairways, less than what is found at most professional tournament sites around the world. — Tom Brown, GOLF panelist

IG: ballyshear_golf_links

52. Titirangi
Auckland, New Zealand
Alister MacKenzie, 1927

53. Sentosa (Serapong)
Singapore
Ronald Fream, 1982

54. Kinloch
Kinloch, New Zealand
Jack Nicklaus, 2007

55. FLC Quy Nhon (Ocean-Nicklaus)
Binh Dinh, Vietnam
Jack Nicklaus, 2016

56. Jack’s Point
Queenstown, New Zealand
John Darby, 2008

57. The Bluffs Grand at Ho Tram BA
Ria-Vung Tau, Vietnam
Greg Norman, 2010

58. Barwon Heads
Barwon Heads, Australia
Victor East, 1921; Neil Crafter/Paul Mogford, 2005

59. BRG Da Nang (Nicklaus)
Da Nang, Vietnam
Jack Nicklaus, 2020

60. Royal Canberra
Yarralumla, Australia
John Harris, 1961; Ogilvy Clayton Cocking & Mead, 2016

61. Dunes at Shenzhou East
Wanning, China
Tom Weiskopf/Phil Smith, 2012

62. Grange (West)
Grange, Australia
Herbert Rymill, 1927; Vern Morcom, 1965; Mike Clayton, 2008

63. Mission Hills (Hainan Lava Fields)
Haikou, Hainan, China
Brian Curley, 2011

64. Lake Malaren (Masters)
Shanghai, China
Jack Nicklaus, 2011

65. Jagorawi (Old)
Gunung Putri, Indonesia
Thomson & Wolveridge, 1979

Peter Thomson — with design associates Michael Wolveridge, Ronald Fream and construction supervisor Max Wexler — took more than four years to build the Old Course at Jagorawi Golf & Country Club, in the Bogor Regency of West Java, Indonesia.  The design is one of the best examples of minimalism on our Top 100 Asia and Australia list. The course was built without land-moving equipment, and the locally sourced construction crew used picks and shovels to clear the rainforest. Sand for the greens was screened from the rivers, which run adjacent to several of the holes. The fairways drain via narrow cement culverts on the perimeter, which flow into the surrounding jungle. But fear not if your tee shots go astray: forecaddies with flags are ready to assist should you carve one into the jungle. Jagorawi is a beautiful walk that follows the topography through the tropical environment. Green complexes are consistent with the slope of the land with an occasional dimple or rise. A round here is a reminder of how painfully over-shaped most modern courses are. — Tom Brown, GOLF panelist

courtesy Jagorawi

66. Shanghai Links
Shanghai, China
Jack Nicklaus, 1999

67. Koga
Koga, Japan
Osamu Ueda, 1953; Shoichi Suzuki, 1996; Ko Tanihira, 2005

68. Oarai
Oarai, Japan
Seiichi Inoue, 1953

69. Arrowtown
Arrowtown, New Zealand
Reg Romans/B.V. Right, 1936; B.V. Right, 1971

70. Shimonoseki
Ahimonoseki, Japan
Osamu Ueda, 1956

71. FLC Quang Binh (Ocean Dunes)
Hai Ninh, Vietnam
Brian Curley, 2019

72. Myotha National
Sagaing, Myanmar
Lee Schmidt/Brian Curley, 2018

73. Stone Valley
Kim Bang, Ha Nam, Vietnam
Brian Curley, 2018

74. Jack Nicklaus GC
Incheon, South Korea
Jack Nicklaus, 2010

75. The Lakes
Eastlakes, Australia
Robert von Hagge/Bruce Devlin, 1968; Mike Clayton, 2007

76. Amata Spring
Tambon Nong Mai Daeng, Thailand
Lee Schmidt/Brian Curley, 2005

77. Victoria
Digana, Sri Lanka
Donald Steel/Martin Ebert, 1999

The island nation of Sri Lanka, just off the tip of India, is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited. Donald Steel delivered at Victoria with a minimalist design that gets the most from the land, courtesy of an excellent routing. The golf is challenging, beginning with the opening tee shot, which requires a carry over a severe right-to-left slope. The stretch from 4 to 6 is as good as it gets: the 4th (below) is a tiny one-shotter at the top of the property with lovely views in all directions; the 5th is a short two-shotter with a high road or a low road to either side of a large central tree, with the third option tempting players to try to carry the tree and drive the green; and the 6th might be the No. 1 handicap hole on the Subcontinent, playing dizzyingly downhill from a high tee over the treetops to a narrow fairway along a ridge, then over a stream to a green benched into the opposite hill. Improbably, the back nine is as good as the front, if not quite as dramatic. The course is narrower than I usually recommend — a tree almost criminally blocks off the left three-quarters of the approach at the 14th — but the par-5 15th and the Redan 16th are outstanding. I hope they eventually cut down a few trees to let the land breathe, because as the terrain and routing are the stars. — Tom Doak, GOLF panelist

courtesy victoria

78. The National (Old)
Cape Schanck, Australia
Robert Trent Jones Jr., 1988

79. The Dunes
Rye, Australia
Tony Cashmore, 1995

80. Hokkaido Classic
Abira, Japan
Jack Nicklaus, 1991

81. 13th Beach (Beach)
Barwon Heads, Australia
Tony Cashmore, 2001

82. Waverley
Waverley, New Zealand
Ernie Southerden, 1965

Even the most intrepid of golfers are unlikely to find themselves passing through rural Taranaki on the west of New Zealand’s North Island. Waverley would be easy to miss, given how the undefined playing corridors drape over the almost overly rambunctious undulations. Three miles from the Tasman Sea, the landscape heaves like windswept sand. The routing flows with, over and against the terrain, turning this way and that, calling for the ball to be worked and the wind constantly judged. A rhythmic sequence, full of intrigue and adventure, is interspersed with half-par holes that tempt and frustrate. Wonderfully varied green complexes with elegant curves sit seamlessly within their surroundings. The elevated, “Tom Thumb” punchbowl green site of the 12th (below) is one to never forget. Bursting with contour and a spirit of adventure, the long 14th tempts a dangerous fence-line following route toward its semi-amphitheater green. The landscape is rich in texture, complemented with distant views of a dormant volcano to distract and inspire. While the sheep-kempt fairways may be too rugged for some, Waverley shares many of the characteristics associated with the world’s best golfing playgrounds. — Clyde Johnson, GOLF panelist

Clyde Johnson

83. Cathedral Lodge
Thornton, Australia
Greg Norman, 2017

84. Lonsdale Links
Point Lonsdale, Australia
Ogilvy Cocking & Mead, 2020

85. Kasumigaseki (West)
Kawagoe, Japan
Kinya Fujita/Seiichi Inoue, 1932; Taizo Kawata, 1994

86. Saujana (Palm)
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Ron Fream, 1986

87. Laguna Lang Co
Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam
Nick Faldo, 2013

Gary Lisbon

88. Haesley Nine Bridges
Yeoju-gun, South Korea
David Dale, 2009

89. Dunes at Shenzhou West
Wanning, China
Tom Weiskopf/Phil Smith, 2010

90. Blue Canyon (Canyon)
Tambon Mai Khao, Thailand
Yoshikazu Kato, 1991

91. Royal Hong Kong (Composite)
Sheung Shui, China
Eden: l.S. Greenhill, 1931; John Hopkins/Peter Thomson, 1968;
New: John Hopkins/Peter Thomson/Michael Wolveridge, 1970

92. Glenelg
Novar Gardens, Australia
Herbert Rymill, 1927; Vern Morcom, 1954; Neil Crafter/Bob Tuohy, 1998

93. Port Fairy
Port Fairy, Australia
Members, 1963; Kevin Hartley, 1985; Mike Clayton, 2002

94. Nicklaus Club Beijing
Beijing, China
Jack Nicklaus, 2014

95. Royal Queensland
Brisbane, Australia
Carnegie Clark, 1921; Mike Clayton, 2005

96. The Australian
Rosebery, Australia
Jack Nicklaus, 1976, 2013

97. Anyang
Gunpo-Si, South Korea
Chohei Miyazawa, 1968; Robert Trent Jones Jr., 1997

98. Joondalup (Quarry/Dune)
Connolly, Australia
Robert Trent Jones Jr., 1985

Robert Trent Jones Jr.’s North American portfolio is expansive enough to make most architects jealous, but his work in Asia and Australia might be even more impressive, with his designs in several countries scattered throughout this ranking. No doubt, he was one of the early trailblazers from the U.S. who helped expand the game in Asia-Pacific. Built in 1985, Joondalup is just north of Perth in Western Australia. Perth is a charming city but its remoteness (it is three hours from Adelaide by plane) keeps many Americans away and has prevented this resort course from being better known. The Quarry nine is the showpiece of RTJ Jr.’s 27 holes here and highlights his natural flair for drama. Take the 3rd hole. Though short at 135 yards, it is all carry over a gnarly 60-foot deep quarry, and the green is adept at soliciting three-putts. On the Dune nine, Jones perfectly routed the dogleg-right 3rd hole to finish at the base of a steep cliff, creating an indelible backdrop. Try to book an early-morning or late-afternoon tee time; the effect that the shadows have across these landforms only heightens the excitement. 

Courtesy Joondaloop

99. Siam (Old)
Tambon Pong, Thailand
Ichisuke Izumi, 1971; Lee Schmidt, 2007

100. Portsea
Portsea, Australia
Jock Young, 1926; Sloan Morpeth/Jack Howard, 1960; Mike Clayton, 2000

More GOLF course rankings: Top 100 Courses in the World | Top 100 Courses in the U.S. | Top 100 Courses You Can Play | Top 100 Value Courses in the U.S. | America’s Best Municipal Courses | Top 100 Courses in the U.K. and Ireland | Top 100 Short Courses in the World

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Hidden away on a strange subscription streaming service that you don’t actually have to subscribe to is a strange reality TV show that isn’t actually a reality show. Rather, it’s a show that’s been meticulously scripted, cast, and produced to emulate reality for one—and only one—of its cast members. The show is Jury Duty, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since it concluded its Season 1 run a few weeks ago, around the same time that clips of its absurdly funny courtroom scenes unexpectedly blew up on TikTok and made a celebrity of its unwitting star, Ronald Gladden, who is now the main character of a series of fan edits all about the fact that he’s simultaneously nice and 6-foot-6.

In the Amazon Freevee hit, a fake court case is tried by fake lawyers in front of a fake jury made up of 11 actors and one nonactor. There is a courtroom full of people who know that the case is fake, the proceedings are scripted, and the judge is Ike Barinholtz’s dad. The twist, of course, is that there’s one juror who thinks it’s all real: Ronald, a deeply normal man from San Francisco who responded to a Craigslist ad asking for people interested in participating in a “documentary” while serving on a civil jury. Because of a paparazzi incident involving A-list sweetie James Marsden (playing a fictional bag-of-dicks version of James Marsden), the entire jury is forced to be sequestered for the duration of the two-week trial. It’s a genius concept teetering on an ethical tightrope, with precisely one human maintaining the balance.

Luckily, the series cast Ronald as its axis. He’s a man with a well of empathy, grace, and patience so deep that not even the universally mundane experience of jury duty, as written by former writers on The Office Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, can drain it. It’s all in the name of tricking a man into thinking he’s participating in the most ludicrous trial of all time and—oops!—making a little found family of freaks, geeks, and Marsdens along the way. It’s weird, and it’s lovely, and sometimes you feel a little weird about thinking that a prank is lovely at all, but thus is the power of a great protagonist. Thus is the power of Ronald.

Prank shows have existed as far back as the mid-20th century, when Candid Camera ran practical jokes on unexpecting civilians, and they remained a pop culture mainstay in the early aughts when Ashton Kutcher donned a Von Dutch hat to torment Justin Timberlake on Punk’d. But there’s nothing practical about an entire courtroom of actors staying in character for 16 days straight, and Ronald isn’t the butt of the joke here. He’s the hero of a story that’s being written based on the decisions that he makes, each one somehow more kind and generous than the one before.

Jury Duty also isn’t reality TV, not exactly. But it is what reality TV has long been accused of being: scripted stories crafted by producers and enacted by an all too willing cast. That kind of reality TV as we know it—The Real Housewives, The Bachelor, The Hills—typically runs on villains. Lisa Rinna says Yolanda Hadid has Munchausen syndrome (well, she repeats that Yolanda Hadid may have Munchausen syndrome), and that’s enough fodder to propel an entire season of television because the reactions to that bomb, whether it was planted by a producer or not, are very real. Gary King pathologically hits on every stewardess who steps foot on a Below Deck Sailing Yacht boat, and we’ve got a season-long love triangle on our hands, no script necessary. Reality TV is all about casting the right antagonists because the best reality TV is all about watching people perform at the wildest peaks of human behavior. And, typically, the bad peaks are the most interesting. Jury Duty, though, posits that if you make the surroundings absurd enough, and if you cast characters so specific that you really believe their whole deal is being “the owner of two gumball machines and one sticker machine” or the inventor of bespoke chair pants (#chants), and if you make the only real asshole in the room an A-list actor showing off his under-explored comedic chops, then a person exhibiting the absolute best of human behavior might be just as interesting as people behaving badly. And way funnier.

There’s a moment in Episode 3 when you know that Jury Duty is something beyond just a marathon prank show. A character named Todd (played with unbelievable specificity by David Brown, who currently has just a handful of acting credits to his name, and who I think might be a genius) has clearly been cast to frustrate Ronald—the Dwight to Ronald’s Jim. He’s an oddball inventor obsessed with hacking the human body’s potential, and he’s staying in the room adjoining Ronald’s. Todd immediately comes up with a secret code of knocks they should use to communicate that he puts on a note and slips under the door into Ronald’s room in the middle of the night. But Ronald doesn’t ignore Todd; he doesn’t tease him for wanting to be his friend or try to make him act more normal. He shows him A Bug’s Life, the 1998 Pixar film, which, per Ronald, “is about this bug making these inventions. … He’s trying to introduce technology into their lives, and that’s exactly what Todd is wanting to do.” Ronald thinks it’s really cool that Todd is passionate about his inventions, including but not limited to a Bluetooth headphone shaped like a human ear and a removable extra row of teeth to help him eat faster, like a shark. Ronald wants to let Todd know that he might feel misunderstood, like the bug from the 1998 Pixar film A Bug’s Life, but Ronald gets it: “All [Todd’s] trying to do is just help in his own way.”

Watching these two grown men watch a Pixar film together—one in character, and one so earnest it hurts—is enough to make you weep. Because just as shocking as, say, Erika Jayne’s outsized response to being called a liar on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is Ronald’s outsized acceptance of his strange and often high-maintenance fellow jurors.

And like most reality shows, Jury Duty invites its audience to reflect on what we might do if thrust into these same situations … and I’ll tell ya: What’s reflected back to me is not pretty! I am no Ronald. First of all, I cannot imagine looking at a stack of DVDs in a sequestration room and deciding to revisit A Bug’s Life. But also, I can pinpoint about 30 times through the course of Jury Duty’s eight episodes when I would have called shenanigans out of sheer frustration and impatience. A list of things that, on any given day, could annoy me enough to make me assume I’ve been cast in some elaborate prank because there’s no way this could really be happening to me might include someone walking too slowly in front of me on the sidewalk; someone passing me on the sidewalk; anyone not walking the exact same speed that I have decided to walk that day, from the exact distance that I deem appropriate.

But nothing annoys Ronald—he is positively overrun with empathy and grace for the people he has been placed in a jury box with. The meanest thing he ever does is accidentally tell James Marsden that he heard Sonic wasn’t a very good movie before realizing that Marsden is in Sonic. But then he watches Sonic that night and tells Marsden the next morning that it’s hilarious to make up for it. (Marsden asks whether he streamed it or bought it because if he bought it, Marsden would get a dollar. It is my greatest hope that Marsden improvised that line.) There’s plenty to marvel over when it comes to how on earth the Jury Duty team pulled this incredible feat of scripted reality TV off, but there were also quite a few times the jig absolutely would’ve, could’ve, and by all means should’ve been up if not for its hero’s winning enthusiasm (and occasional yet pleasant pop culture naivete). Here are Jury Duty’s breaking points, ranked from least to most egregious.

Casting Sewage Joe

Something is going to happen when you first try to get other people to watch Jury Duty. They’ll watch the trailer, look at the poster, or listen to only half of your thoughtful and persuasive argument, and then they’ll say: “OK, this dude would immediately recognize James Marsden and know that these are actors.” At which point you’ll explain (again) that he’s supposed to recognize Marsden, who has put aside all actorly ego to play an outlandish narcissist version of himself, throwing Ronald even further off the scent that this situation might be fake …

Instead, the actual casting hiccup comes when Kirk Fox shows up in the jury box, at which point I think almost any human with a television would be like, “Wait, is that Sewage Joe?” Most of these other perfect, amazing, genius comedic actors aren’t (excuse me, weren’t) household faces, but Sewage Joe from Parks and Recreation? The guy who’s constantly telling Leslie Knope she’s got a bangin’ dumpster? I’m sorry, but Ronald, who later fanboys to Marsden about fellow Parks and Rec standout Ben Schwartz, didn’t recognize Sewage Joe, a “that guy” if ever there was one? I guess we’ll just chalk this one up to facial blindness.

Noah’s Family Guy Offense

One of the most delicious behind-the-scenes reveals in the final episode is that the writers had plotted for Noah (Mekki Leeper, also a writer on the show) to lure Ronald into repeating a Family Guy plot wherein Peter claims to be racist to get out of jury duty, but they ultimately scrapped it because it was too outlandish—only for Ronald to get there totally on his own. The look of delight on Leeper’s face when Ronald offers the Family Guy plot up as a way to get out of jury duty (but insists it’s not a suggestion!) is topped only by Ronald’s look of pure horror when Noah looks over at him and then rattles off, “Uh, I’m a racist” when asked why he can’t serve on the jury. The fact that Noah never publicly seems to blame this on Ronald is, I can assume, the only reason Ronald did not go running for the hills.

Tim’s Origami Cranes

Hands down, the first funniest thing to happen in this show full of the funniest things is when one of the jurors, Tim (Brandon Loeser, an actual stuntperson), falls off a bookshelf and has to be removed from the case. Sitting with the rest of the jury, talking to the “documentary” producers, Ronald slowly realizes that every single one of the other jurors has made a meaningful connection with Tim over the course of a few days—a connection so meaningful that Tim gifted an origami crane to each of the other jurors except Ronald. Ronald tells the group that he’s mostly exchanged simple pleasantries with Tim, but we know that they have had one deeper exchange: the one when Tim passed by Ronald and told him that he was gonna go “rub one out” in the bathroom. Ronald uncomfortably chirped back, “Yep, do it while you have the time!” Even in the face of courthouse masturbation, Ronald is unerringly supportive.

The Warehouse

Episode 5 of Jury Duty is one of the most chaotic episodes of television I’ve ever seen, and I’m currently watching the Roy children compete to be Daddy’s biggest little idiot each week on Succession. It ends at Margaritaville, where the jurors run up a check that Marsden then agrees to pay in exchange for Ronald arm wrestling him. But it starts with a moment in the warehouse that causes the always calm and collected Ronald to exclaim, “What the fuck is going on?!”

Throughout the eight episodes, Ronald is unexpectedly very into the nearly incomprehensible court proceedings, and fellow juror Lonnie (Ishmel Sahid) matches him beat for beat on their amateur investigator shit. When they’re let loose in the warehouse to explore the scene of the alleged accident, they wander up to a storage room that is filled with strange chemical smells, discarded T-shirts that the prosecution said were lost, a slew of creepy mannequins … and Todd, hidden in the dark among the mannequins, “seeing what facts about them [he] could discern.” Lonnie seems legitimately mad at Todd for creeping around in the dark, causing Todd to panic and leading Ronald to stop hysterically laughing long enough to reassure Todd that it’s fine, there’s nothing to worry about. Truly, the only thing keeping this man from noticing that he’s living inside an SNL skit is his pathological desire to make others feel better. What is his deal?!

Lunch

I admit that the ranking of this one could be subjective. But as a work-from-home little weirdo myself, my truest hell is rallying a group of strangers to make a Panera Bread order in a timely manner. Doing it every day for 16 days might not be enough to make me realize I’m in a Truman Show–style human experiment, but it would be enough for me to jimmy open a bathroom window and take whatever fine comes with being in contempt of court. (The fact that the judge made Ronald foreperson because he thought he made the final lunch order? I’m absolutely seething.)

The Inept Defense

Not all breaking points on Jury Duty are about questioning your own reality or battling your own ethics—some are just about wondering how the hell Ronald didn’t laugh. A defining feature of the fake trial is that the defense is a disaster. The defendant’s lawyer (Evan Williams, also a writer on the show, also a real attorney) spends what feels like days hyping up an animated reenactment video that will rival the one the prosecution showed in their opening statement. But then he has the jury watch a video on his iPad that looks like a game of Minecraft got stuck in the Upside Down, before he mutters, “I’m gonna have to have a talk with my nephew.”

It’s later revealed that the actors hadn’t seen the video before filming with Ronald, which is why they’re all on the verge of breaking into laughter. But not Ronald—no, he’s just disappointed that the defense wasn’t able to come up with better arguments.

Genevieve Telford Warren

The first time I ever caught wind of Jury Duty, it was from a TikTok of Genevieve Telford Warren (Lisa Gilroy, my god) explaining her occupation as a social media brand ambassador who does brand negotiations for her dog and is also a corporate, personal, and public DJ, as well as a dormant certified lash tech and an occasional actor and model.

Everything Gilroy does in her few moments on the stand is so perfectly calibrated and hilarious. She uses the word “also” like an artist uses a paintbrush, and it’s bonkers that she’s doing it in one take for the sake of one guy who doesn’t know she’s acting. It is simply incredible that Ronald doesn’t laugh during any of her testimony or immediately ask, “Say, is this witness actually a skilled front-facing-camera comedian, and am I being elaborately Punk’d right now?” Gilroy deserves an Emmy just for the way that she explains three alternating skull emojis as “bones with more bones, and then just the bones, and then bones with other bones.”

Lisa Gilroy rules! Thanks for watching!

— ross kimball (@therosskimball) April 30, 2023

Marsden’s Audition Tape

Almost all the top moments that would have caused me to personally hit fake jury duty with a real “smell ya later” involve fake James Marsden. He’s the cast’s only true antagonist, and even Ronald gets frustrated with him at times—but he almost always gives Marsden a second chance. During one of their days off, Ronald even agrees to help him with an audition tape for the alleged Quentin Tarantino Western he won’t shut up about. And I genuinely think that whatever immunity Ronald has to secondhand embarrassment should be studied and reproduced en masse. For me personally, taking a little of whatever he’s got would certainly make watching The Bachelor a lot easier.

It’s not that Marsden is bad during the taping—he’s actually kind of incredible just rattling off lines from a heinous fake script. It’s that he keeps giving Ronald acting notes that Ronald then willingly applies to this little scene. A scene that includes lines like “It’s important to feel stuff, Caleb.” It is important to feel stuff, and I feel horrified by how long Ronald has to run lines with fake Marsden—especially because of the more horrifying things that are happening in between …

Noah’s Soaking

While James and Ronald are rehearsing his audition, they’re frequently interrupted by Noah, who by that point has drunkenly broken up with his girlfriend after seeing a photo of her with another man with an erection that was highly analyzed by the sharpest-eyed jury in this fake courthouse. The breakup finally gives Jeannie (Edy Modica, effortlessly hilarious) her chance to cash in on the crush on Noah she’s been harboring since she first spotted him in the waiting room and correctly assessed that he looks like Christopher Robin. It’s never directly said that Noah is a member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, but between his short-sleeve dress shirts, tie pins, and knowledge of soaking, it’s more than implied. (Yes, that soaking!)

Noah first interrupts James and Ronald to ask Ronald to wingman for him while talking to Jeannie (this is when Ronald gives his now notorious full-door lean, and if this man had any sense of how wonderful he is, he’d know that no real person would ever want to ask for his help trying to get the girl). Unfortunately, he wingmans a little too close to the sun, and now Jeannie wants to get more comfortable with Noah. Soon, Noah is frantically explaining the infamous act of “soaking” to Ronald and Marsden, who interprets it as “parking the car in the garage” while someone else bounces on the bed. Ronald says he’s willing to support Noah in any way he can, “short of me jumping on the bed.” At which point, Marsden agrees to jump on the bed while Noah parks his car in Jeannie’s garage …

To which Ronald is just like, sure, this seems normal, and wraps up their self-tape, sending the star of The Notebook on his way to help two strangers have sex. (Ronald actually does say, “This seems like a reality TV show” a number of times throughout production, but never with enough force to make the producers come out of their little hidey-holes and say, “OK, you got us there!”)

Marsden’s Giant Shit

If you can believe it, there is a C-plot at play during the soaking and audition scenes. The first time Noah interrupts, James goes into the bathroom and doesn’t come out for a long time. When Ronald comes back to his hotel room, there’s an awful smell, and Marsden says he wasn’t able to take a leak because, unfortunately, the toilet was full of giant, unflushable turds. The smell forces them to relocate, and when a plumber later shows up to get Ronald’s room key, James Marsden blames the giant shit on Ronald. He goes on to explain that, yes, he did clog the toilet, but he can’t risk a tabloid running that story, so Ronald takes the blame for James Marsden’s giant shit. Ronald does not even like this guy! (Although he does respect him as an actor, and gets him to sign a copy of Sex Drive, perhaps the only James Marsden movie I’d never heard of, now available to stream on—you guessed it—Freevee.)

Todd’s Chair Pants

There is nothing funnier on Jury Duty—and maybe nothing funnier in the world—than Todd revealing, wrestling with, and then ultimately removing his chair pants … the chair built into his pants … his chants. Which is to say that if I ever saw something this funny happening in my real life, I might have to pause and wonder, “Am I being Jury Duty’d right now?”

But not Ronald. He doesn’t laugh at Todd as he painfully folds himself into the van (the only challenge of chair pants is interacting with other chairs); he doesn’t question his own reality as he calmly explains to the courthouse security guard that the crutches attached directly to Todd’s butt are “a chair for him.” He just shows Todd A Bug’s Life and gives him a mall makeover complete with a Members Only jacket to make him feel more confident. After Todd’s been forced to remove his DIY exoskeleton in a very public corner of the juror’s box, Ronald tells him that he shouldn’t be embarrassed: “You take some risks—not all of ’em pay off,” he simply and kindly puts it.

You can’t really know how you’ll handle a situation until you’re in it. That’s why most people watch reality TV—to get a taste of life’s many potential scenarios without actually having to risk surviving on rice for 30 days, or living in a house with six strangers, or working alongside Jax Taylor at a restaurant owned by Lisa Vanderpump. Would you triumph in those situations? Would you go full Lisa Rinna, wield a broken wine glass, and throw bacon turkey bravo sandwiches around the sequestration room until someone tells you if you’ve been put into a jury duty simulation costarring James Marsden? Would you support a new friend in his quest to never not be wearing a chair? Ronald Gladden can actually answer these questions now—and based on his stunningly compassionate reactions to all of the above, it’s safe to say that he availed himself better than maybe any other human could.

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On Thursday, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II came out against the idea of having neutral site AFC and NFC Championship games.

“I hate the idea,” Rooney said. “I don’t like that at all. My sense is that if you put that up for a vote it wouldn’t pass today, but who knows.”

Good. Let’s hope that’s the case. And let’s hope Rooney II keeps up that stance and vehemently argues against the idea if it does come up for a vote.

This whole conversation began when Atlanta was designated to host this year’s AFC Championship game if the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs had ended up being the two combatants.

That’s because the league canceled the Week 17 “Monday Night Football” game (due to the collapse of Buffalo defensive back Damar Hamlin) between the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, thus leaving the two franchises with incomplete seasons and win totals that were askew from the rest of the conference.

That plan was averted because the Bengals won in Buffalo during last week’s divisional round. So they’ll simply travel to Kansas City as would normally be the case for a No. 3 seed versus a No. 1.

But because the NFL was pumping out information that advanced ticket sales were brisk for the game in case it happened (although that was largely based on the secondary market), many in the national media opined that those were signals to the country from the league to warm up to the idea of permanent neutral-site title games.

Perhaps as early as next year.

Sadly, I think those predictions are going to come true. Maybe not next year. But very soon. The financial windfall may be too much for Rooney’s peers to ignore.

So, in case Sunday’s games in K.C. and Philadelphia are the last two to ever be staged in home stadiums, I thought it’d be worthwhile to spend some time reliving all the moments of the 11 AFC Championship games hosted in Pittsburgh since 1972.

Steelers.com contributor and team historian Bob Labriola joined me for Friday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. We discussed all the memories of the Steelers’ six AFC Championship game home wins and their five painful home title-game losses.

Labriola ranked the six victories in order of what he thinks were the best games. I ranked the five defeats in terms of what I deemed to be the most painful.

Ranking the Steelers’ 6 AFC Championship home wins

6. Steelers 27 Oilers 13 (Jan. 6, 1980 — Three Rivers Stadium): This Steelers win would propel the franchise to its fourth and final Super Bowl of the Chuck Noll era. Pittsburgh wouldn’t enjoy another home playoff victory until 1994.

The game is best remembered as the “Renfro Game” to those in Houston. Late in the third quarter, down 17-10, quarterback Dan Pastorini appeared to hit receiver Mike Renfro for a touchdown. But the play was ruled incomplete. The angst over the apparent blown call is widely perceived as an early argument for the advent of instant replay, which eventually was implemented in 1986. Replay was ditched after the 1991 season and brought back in 1999.

The Steelers scored the final 10 points of the game in the fourth quarter. Franco Harris had 136 yards from scrimmage. The Steel Curtain defense held Oilers star running back Earl Campbell to just 15 yards on 17 carries.

Labriola: “It was an AFC Championship game. A lot of Hall of Fame players. But with the exception of the one officiating controversy, there wasn’t anything all that compelling about it. Somebody had to be sixth. So 1979-80 is sixth.”

5. Steelers 24 New York Jets 19 (Jan. 23, 2011 — Heinz Field): The Steelers built a 24-3 lead before halftime. They gave up the next 16 points.

On third down and six with less than two minutes left, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for a crucial third-down conversion, and the Steelers ran out the clock.

Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers went on to face the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV. That game didn’t end as well.

Labriola: “The one thing about that game that, to me, was somewhat eye opening, was that it showcased what we were going to see over the next five or six years — the pairing of Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown.”

4. Steelers 20 Indianapolis Colts 16 (Jan.14, 1996 — Three Rivers Stadium): After having lost to the San Diego Chargers at home as a big favorite in the AFC title game the year before, the Steelers found themselves losing to a big underdog again in this game.

The Jim Harbaugh-led Colts built a 16-13 fourth quarter advantage. But Neil O’Donnell led a 67-yard touchdown drive that featured a dropped interception, a fourth-down conversion to Andre Hastings, a 37-yard connection to Ernie Mills and a Bam Morris touchdown.

So, down 20-16, the Colts advanced to the Steelers’ 29 with five seconds left. On the game’s final play, Harbaugh attempted a Hail Mary pass which came down into a crowd of players in the end zone. It momentarily looked like Colts receiver Aaron Bailey was going to be able to haul the ball in for a soul-crushing score. But it fell to the turf and the Steelers won.

The Steelers advanced to Super Bowl XXX before losing to the favored Dallas Cowboys.

Labriola: “I was seriously thinking that if the Steelers lose this game again, come this far to a championship game at home, and lose to a team that was a heavy underdog — two times in a row, back-to-back seasons — you’d probably have to blow the whole thing up and start over. Because I don’t know if you could’ve continued with that roster that had gone through that and then expect them to not have PTSD and go in the tank for a while.”

3. Steelers 16 Oakland Raiders 10 (Jan. 4, 1976 — Three Rivers Stadium): After having beaten the Raiders in Oakland for the AFC crown the previous season, the Steelers made it two in a row by winning a frigid, low-scoring game at Three Rivers.

This would come to be known as the “Frozen Sidelines” game. Oakland owner Al Davis and head coach John Madden accused the Steelers and Three Rivers Stadium grounds crew of allowing the artificial turf to ice over, in an effort to slow Oakland’s vertical passing attack — particularly down the sidelines.

Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler wound up 18 of 46 for 246 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked twice, and Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert recovered three fumbles.

Raiders defensive back George Atkinson concussed Lynn Swann during the game. But the second-year wide receiver would respond two weeks later to win Super Bowl X MVP.

Labriola: “The bitterness of the Steelers-Raiders rivalry — I won’t say it peaked (with that game) — but it was at its zenith in that era.”

2. Steelers 34 Oilers 5 (Jan. 7, 1979 — Three Rivers Stadium): A game played in 27-degree frozen rain, it proved to be an all-out coronation of the fabled 1978 Steelers, who went 14-2 during the regular season.

The defense allowed only 142 yards in total offense while forcing nine Houston turnovers and collecting three sacks while allowing just one field goal.

Meanwhile, Swann and quarterback Terry Bradshaw connected four times for 98 yards. Five different ball carriers combined for 179 rushing yards. Then the team went on to beat the Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII.

Labriola: “The Steelers had dominated so many of their regular-season opponents. They paid back the Broncos in the divisional round (33-10). The Broncos had eliminated the Steelers from the playoffs in ‘77. That was the rubber match against the Oilers, who, at that time, maybe (were) the second-best team in the NFL and just dominated them.”

1. Steelers 23 Ravens 14 (Jan. 18, 2009 — Heinz Field): After the Immaculate Reception playoff game versus Oakland in 1972, this is considered by many Pittsburghers to be the most memorable, hardest-hitting NFL game ever played in this city.

Limas Sweed’s block on Corey Ivy. Roethlisberger’s touchdown to Santonio Holmes. Ryan Clark knocking out Willis McGahee. And Tyrone Carter’s game-sealing interception.

Which wasn’t even close to the biggest interception of the day.

It’s #NationalHairDay, so it’s only right we drop a Troy Polamalu highlight.

Jan. 18, 2009: The @steelers safety sealed a Super Bowl berth with a pick-six in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game. @tpolamalu pic.twitter.com/UqieIVvmz4

— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) October 1, 2018

That pick-6 from Troy Polamalu; every NFL fan base deserves to have that kind of moment happen in their city at least once. That moment right there, as anyone who was at Heinz Field that day will tell you, is why any conference title game is better when it is in a home stadium.

Whether it’s Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Buffalo or Cincinnati, that kind of moment will never be as good in somebody else’s dome or on a warm-weather neutral field.

Labriola: “The Steelers had settled into some offensive doldrums at the time. They were leading 16-14. The Ravens had started to move the ball again. And I really had a bad feeling that it was going to be a field goal and a 17-16 loss. But Polamalu really made one of the great plays in his career and iced that game.”

So that’s how Labriola ranked the Steelers six home AFC Championship game wins. My rankings were a little different, but not at the top.

1. Steelers beat Ravens in ‘09

2. Steelers beat Colts in ‘96

3. Steelers beat Oilers 34-5 in ‘79

4. Steelers beat Oilers 27-13 in the Renfro Game in ‘80

5. Steelers beat Raiders in ‘76

6. Steelers beat the Jets in ‘11

The losses

As far as ranking the five home AFC Championship game defeats in terms of pure disappointment, here’s how I stacked them. For me, it was harder to sort through the negative emotions than it was to itemize the joy of the wins.

5. Miami Dolphins 21 Steelers 17 (Dec. 31, 1972 — Three Rivers Stadium): First of all, I was still two years from being born. So I can’t speak to the anguish of this one.

But the euphoria of the Immaculate Reception and the franchise’s first-ever playoff win still had to be hanging in the air at kickoff. The Steelers probably shouldn’t have hosted that game against the unbeaten Dolphins anyway, but annually rotating the AFC title games through the division winners was the rule at the time. Plus, the Steelers got goofed by Larry Seiple’s fake punt.

Hey, (stuff) happens. The next seven years went pretty well, though. Didn’t they?

4. Broncos 24 Steelers 21 (Jan. 11, 1998 — Three Rivers Stadium): Some may have this game higher because the Steelers strategically mangled a game that they were winning.

Agreed.

Jerome Bettis had 105 yards on 23 carries. Yet the Steelers shifted to the passing attack with Kordell Stewart making his first title-game start. He wound up throwing three interceptions — two in the end zone — and had a fumble. The Steelers ended up blowing an early lead as a result and losing what would turn out to be their last-ever playoff game at Three Rivers.

The truth is, though, the Broncos had a better record than the Steelers, they went on to win the Super Bowl twice in a row, and (at the time) the sense was Stewart was going to be really good for a while. So, the loss was a little easier to digest.

Hold that thought.

3. New England Patriots 24 Steelers 17 (Jan. 27, 2002 — Heinz Field): After three years of erratic play, Stewart and the Steelers had a great year in 2001, the first year at brand-new Heinz Field. They beat the hated Ravens in the divisional round despite missing an ailing Bettis.

The upstart Patriots came to town with some second-year punk quarterback named Tom Brady riding a magic carpet into the postseason.

The Steelers’ Lethon Flowers knocked him out in the second quarter. Drew Bledsoe came in to lead a touchdown drive anyway. The Patriots scored two touchdowns on special teams. Stewart threw three more picks, and Bettis walked away with eight yards on nine carries.

Because the Super Bowl was to be played the next week that year, I was told to have a bag packed and to be ready to leave early the next morning. I came home and a full suitcase was sitting there mocking me. I was convinced I’d never see the Steelers in a Super Bowl again. If, after a 13-3 season, they could lose to a bunch of no-names from New England who were obviously going to lose the Super Bowl the next week and be a total flash in the pan (right?), they were just never going to win an AFC Championship again.

2. Patriots 41 Steelers 27 (Jan. 23, 2005 — Heinz Field): Given that Roethlisberger had yet to lose a start during his fabulous rookie season, why would the AFC Championship game be any different?

And if the Steelers could beat the Patriots at home by two touchdowns as they did in October, why couldn’t they do it again in January with the Super Bowl on the line?

But Roethlisberger threw three interceptions, and Brady hit Deion Branch four times for 116 yards and a touchdown.

New England was one step ahead all game. It’s almost like they knew what plays were coming, or something.

1. Chargers 17 Steelers 13 (Jan. 15, 1995 — Three Rivers Stadium): This is the only game ever to make me physically ill. I felt great going into the stadium. I went to bed with a migraine and a chest cold.

When it was 59 degrees on Jan. 15 in Pittsburgh, to welcome a team from San Diego for an AFC title game, that was the first sign of disaster.

The last sign of disaster was Dennis Gibson batting away O’Donnell’s last-ditch, fourth-down pass to Barry Foster in the end zone.

4th and goal from the 3.
Dennis Gibson knocks down the pass and the #Chargers are headed to their first Super Bowl, winning in Pittsburgh 17-13. pic.twitter.com/9clNfgi79V

— Old Time Football (@Ol_TimeFootball) January 16, 2023

In between, Foster fumbled, Tony Martin caught a long touchdown, and Alfred Pupunu did his coconut TD celebration.

The Steelers were the AFC’s best team that year. The Chargers victory over Dan Marino and the Dolphins the week before was supposed to make a 15-year return trip to the Super Bowl all the easier.

Beating San Diego was supposed to be academic. Then it was supposed to be on to the Super Bowl for a third go-round with the Cowboys or a battle with the San Francisco 49ers to see which organization was going to be the first to claim a fifth ring.

I remember my father describing downtown Monday morning as having tumbleweeds rolling through the streets because the whole city was just like me. Too sick to go to work.

But you know what? You need to witness hurt like that in person to become a good fan as well. It’s not all about the good times. And none of those games would hurt as much if they are in a dome in Atlanta.

For the wins. For the losses. Keep the title games at home venues. We need Troy Polamalu. We need Dennis Gibson. And the NFL doesn’t need another measly billion dollars.

Listen: Tim Benz and Bob Labriola rank the Steelers’ AFC Championship games

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

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The San Francisco Giants are one of the most storied franchises in the history of Major League Baseball. From their days dominating baseball in New York as the Gothams to their transition to the Gold Coast, the team has provided priceless memories for baseball fans since 1883. Throughout those years, the team has won the National League pennant 23 times and won eight World Series titles (five in New York and three in San Francisco). When a team has been around for over a century, there’s a fair share of stars and sluggers.

Here are the 5 greatest San Francisco Giants sluggers of all time

#5 Buster Posey

San Francisco Giants Photo Day

While his 158 home runs don’t scream slugger, Posey’s accomplishments at the catching position en-route to leading the San Francisco Giants to three World Series titles deserves recognition. No catcher was as offensively dominant in the 2010s, and due to the rigors of the position, Posey belongs on this list.

#4 Matt Williams

A third baseman who is likely best known by younger fans for his heroics as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks club that won the World Series in 2001, Williams had his best seasons with the Giants. Williams hit 247 of his 378 career home runs in San Francisco and would have likely had a career that was more legendary had it not been for the Major League Baseball player’s strike in 1994. That season, Williams was crushing the ball at a prolific and historic rate, as he was on pace to compete with New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris’s then record 61 home runs as he had 43 home runs and 110 runs batted in through 115 games. Williams would go on to have an unsuccessful career as a manager in his post-playing days. However, he will always be remembered by the San Francisco Giants for his ability to crush the ball.

#3 Willie McCovey

McCovey’s career is littered with accomplishments and accolades. He was named to the National League All-Star team six times, won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1969, and was a first-ballot inductee to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. However, the greatest accomplishment of McCovey’s career as a member of the San Francisco Giants was the naming of McCovey Cove outside of Oracle Park, a body of water that catches home runs that are hit so hard they physically leave the ballpark and splash into the bay . McCovey led the league in home runs three times for the San Francisco Giants and was an integral part of creating a generation of new fans for the club as they completed their manifest destiny expansion to the West Coast. McCovey slugged 469 home runs for the franchise.

#2 Barry Bonds

During his days as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Barry Bonds was considered anything but a slugger. The outfielder averaged around 25 home runs per year in the first portion of his career, and was more well-known for his speed. However, all of that changed when he came to San Francisco, the franchise that brought his father and godfather to the Major Leagues. Bonds would go onto mash 586 career home runs as a Giant, good enough for second all-time on the team’s list and giving him 762 for the totality of his career. While Bonds is regarded as one of the most fearsome sluggers in the entirety of baseball, his work with the San Francisco Giants (though tainted) is second to only to one man.

#1 Willie Mays

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The godfather of #2 on the list, Willie Mays is arguably the greatest player to ever play in a San Francisco Giants uniform. Having been a member of both the New York Giants and San Francisco Giants, Mays brought a level of clout, swagger, and credibility with him to California. The deck was stacked against Mays as he entered the Major Leagues. After spending two years of his prime in the Negro Leagues, Mays entered a league that was still in the infancy of integration. He had to play his home games in the Polo Grounds, a massively spacious ballpark, before moving to the equally pitcher-friendly Candlestick Park. Combine that with losing two seasons due to being drafted by the US Army to serve in the Korean War, and it’s very likely the Mays would be holding the all-time home run record instead of his godson Bonds. Regardless, the 24-time National League All-Star crushed 646 of his 660 home runs with the Giants, making him the best slugger in team history.

Edited by Jodi Whisenhunt

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A couple of weeks ago I was looking at the San Francisco 49ers’ position groups and seeing which players should keep the team and which ones to release. Going through this process has shown that there are some position groups that have much greater needs than others.

Here I’m going to rank the off-season needs of the 49ers from largest to smallest. As I work through this, you will find that there are some areas that need new talent that you did not expect, or that you have already felt like the team has to go through a series of upgrades and nothing is going to get you to surprise. In any case, your ranking may look different than mine. If so, please share your thoughts with us.

11) Linebacker

Fred Warner is one of the best linebackers in the NFL and, along with Dre Greenlaw, the best linebacker tandem in the league. Azeez Al-Shaair, a vacant free agent from the Florida Atlantic, has emerged as the third linebacker, nearly doubling his performance in each statistical category in 2020 from his rookie season. Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles has continued to evolve into an NFL linebacker after strong security in Arizona.

10) Defensive tackle

Javon Kinlaw, Kevin Givens and Kentavius ​​Street give the 49ers a heavy rotation in the middle of the 49ers defense line. Taking advantage of the 14th draft 2020 election for this position, San Francisco picked Javon Kinlaw, who proved a strong run defender during his rookie campaign. If he can add a few moves to his pass rush repertoire, he could become an inner force.

Givens is a little too small, listed at 6’1 ”and 285, but his speed and leverage allow him to be internally disruptive. Last season, Givens had five tackles for the loss, the second most common defensive tackle among the 49ers.

9) Narrow end

George Kittle is one of the best bottlenecks in the game. Behind Kittle are the 49ers Charlie Woerner, who scored a draft pick for the former Georgia Bulldog in the sixth round. Woerner was mostly used in blocking situations at the start of the season, but saw his role evolve as the season progressed and eventually be put in a role similar to Kyle Juszczyk. Ross Dwelley is a restricted free agent who has shown great promise and should be among the lower-cost free agents bringing the 49ers back for 2021.

However, do not rule out an addition to this group. Last off-season, the 49ers showed an interest in Austin Hooper during the free agency before settling on Jordan Reed. With Kyle Juszczyk likely to move on, there could be two more sets with tight ends in the future of the 49ers.

8) Security

San Francisco plays with Jimmie Ward, and with the wage cap situation tight, it’s likely that Tarvarius Moore will be his partner in the back of the 49ers Secondary. Marcell Harris is a restricted free agent who could likely be brought back at a bargain price and has improved throughout his time on the team as well.

7) Wide receiver

Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk deliver a nice 2-1 strike for the 49ers offensive, but once you get those two behind you the closet is pretty empty. Richie James has shown the ability to play games when he gets the chance, but for some reason Kyle Shanahan doesn’t call his number often.

Behind these three is River Cracraft and a number of other journeymen. Travis Benjamin, who dropped out of 2020 due to Covid-19 concerns, is a veteran option the team could take, and its cap is a little over $ 1 million.

6) Run back

Despite other needs, the 49ers should try to add a rewind for depth. Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson are both very good defenders but cannot count on them to play a full 16-game schedule. JaMycal Hasty and Austin Walter will also be at training camp with the team, but there isn’t the type of back you want to play on a down-in-down-out basis either.

A rookie with the ability to be a three-down defender would help solidify the position for 2021 and beyond, as Wilson is only signed for 2021.

5) Defensive ending

Nick Bosa is expected to be back after a knee injury that kept him off for up to five quarters in 2020 and Arik Armstead will start at the other final defensive position.

This group is at the top of the list as at least one pass rusher needs to be added. While Armstead does a good job in the base defense in the end, he tries to throw the passerby off the edge. Adding a free hand or draft defensive end would allow Armstead to move into where he is much more effective. This was seen in full in 2019, and it showed towards the end of last season when Dion Jordan and Jordan Willis got more playing time.

4) quarterback

The 49ers were noncommittal with Jimmy Garoppolo as starting quarterback, which means his days in San Francisco may be numbered. Does that mean he won’t be the center of attention when the 49ers open the season in September? No, but what it does mean is that the 49ers will have to spend resources on the position this off-season.

Adding a quarterback through the design is a necessity. The 49ers haven’t invested in the future of the position since Garoppolo was acquired in mid-2017. Yes, they added Josh Johnson and Josh Rosen in 2020 but that was out of necessity, the former being added after Garoppolo’s injury and the latter joining the team after Nick Mullens was injured in week 15.

3) Inside offensive line

The only constant in this group in 2020 was Laken Tomlinson on the left. The veteran has played almost every snap over the past season.

With Weston Richburg unable to recover from a knee injury in late 2019, the 49ers had a revolving door in the middle in early 2020 before opting for Daniel Brunskill in the second half of the season. Brunskill did an admirable job, but he’s more of a tackle or guard than a center.

The instability in the middle position also affected the right guard point. At the start of the season, Brunskill was expected to be the starter, but as he jumped back and forth between center and guard during training camp and the first half of the season, the pitch could never be consolidated.

The 49ers spent a fifth round with Colton McKivitz in 2020. The rookie started three times on the right and will fight for the starting place in 2021.

There are a few names in the free agent market that could pique San Francisco’s interest: Alex Mack and Corey Linsley would both be strong additions to the center, and Austin Blythe would be for his versatility to play both center and center. guard also a good choice.

2) Offensive tackle

With Trent Williams going to be a free choice and Mike McGlinchey struggling with pass protection throughout 2020, the 49ers will have to try to create an attack by draft or free action. Even if they are confident that Justin Skule can take the left attacking position, it would be wise to get someone who can be cared for to replace McGlinchey once his contract expires after the 2021 season – one year option would change given the level of play , which we saw from the first selection of the first round, turn out to be too expensive.

1) cornerback

This one is a breeze. The 49ers currently have no cornerbacks starting a game for them under contract for 2021. To make matters worse, all starters except Emmanuel Moseley will be unrestricted free agents as of 2020, which means the 49ers will have to outbid other teams for their services.

Look for the 49ers to add at least one cornerback by free agency and another by the early part of the design.

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