Stick, Owen Wilson's new show, promises to be a feel-It's a good story, but some parts of it make me want to throw my putter.

Stick, a new sports comedy for Apple TV+, had a lot of potential. A lot of people wanted to see another show like Ted Lasso or Shrinking. Owen Wilson plays Pryce Cahill, a former golf pro whose career ended years ago. He works in a store that sells sports equipment today, and he feels lost since his divorce. When he meets Santi Wheeler (Peter Dager), a talented 17-year-old golfer with a lot of potential, his life changes. Pryce chooses to help Santi by being his mentor. He hopes to help the young guy become a professional and find some peace of mind for himself. I started watching Stick because I wanted to see a heartwarming narrative with Owen Wilson's unique mix of humor and seriousness.

The show does live up to some of that early promise. There are parts that make you smile and rejoice. I like the idea of a group of people who aren't related coming together to work toward a common objective. The first few episodes do an excellent job of showing how terrible Pryce's life is and how quietly talented Santi is. We learn about Pryce's old caddy Mitts (Marc Maron) and Santi's mom Elena (Mariana Treviño). We witness the group get closer as they go to golf events together. This fundamental concept made me want the characters to win from the start.

Owen Wilson plays Pryce Cahill, and he brings his usual charm to the role.

His presence makes the show's main relationships stronger.

Owen Wilson is definitely one of the best things about Stick. He can make a character who isn't perfect seem likeable. Because of his past and current problems, Pryce Cahill may easily seem like a loser or a little shady. But Wilson gives him a strong sense of honesty and hope that keeps you interested. You can see that he's tired while he's working at bars or trying to sell golf clubs, but there's also a spark in him. Pryce's mission to coach Santi is believable and emotionally powerful because of Wilson's charm.

The show is all around how Pryce and Santi talk to each other. For a while, the link between the mentor and protégé feels real. We witness Pryce trying to help Santi deal with the stress of being a professional golfer. The relationship with Mitts adds a companion who is grouchy but compassionate. Elena is a protective mother who is trying to figure out how to help her son. They are a group of people that obviously need each other. These human ties are what make the show so good, especially in the first few episodes.

It's simple to compare Stick to Ted Lasso because they both try to be uplifting. It wants to make you laugh and also touch your heart. It intends to highlight how people can get over their problems with the aid of others. The show works when it focuses on these characteristics. The half-hour episodes keep things going at a good pace and don't spend too much time on any one storyline. The fast pace of the show helps it stay light. For a while, I assumed Stick would be the next big Apple TV+ comedy that everyone would talk about.

But Stick makes some creative moves that don't work out.

The show's direction gets messy and loses sight of its golf theme.

Stick starts out strong and Owen Wilson does a great job, but it doesn't keep up its momentum throughout the season. Things start to go wrong for me around episodes 4 and 5. A new character named Zero (Lilli Kay) is introduced as Santi's love interest. Zero's presence seems to take the show off track, even though new characters might make it feel fresh. The show starts to push Zero's beliefs and attitude very hard, which makes it seem contrived and preachy.

I thought the generational differences between Zero and Pryce were more usual and mean than interesting. At first, it was a funny golf show about a coach and his student. Now it's turning into a show about Zero. Pryce, played by Owen Wilson, starts to feel like an afterthought in his own program. It's very annoying that the focus has changed. A golf comedy shouldn't go too serious with its social messages; it should just focus on golf and its characters.

In addition to the problems with Zero, I thought the show didn't really comprehend golf. There are instances when golf happens, but other times the situations don't seem real. For instance, in one episode, a rather straightforward golf stroke sets Santi back a lot. If you know golf, it feels wrong and takes you out of the story. The show seems like it knows a lot about the sport, but it often gets the basics wrong. This makes it impossible to really feel the stress in the golf matches.

The backstory of Pryce also seems incomplete or inconsistent. It seems like a golfer of his talent level could get over his professional breakdown more quickly than he did. I found it hard to believe that Pryce would spend a lot of money on Santi, only to be pushed aside by Zero. The plot points in the show don't always seem to come from the characters' actions in a natural way.

There are also times when the show tries to be profound and serious, but it doesn't work. Pryce's personal sorrow with someone named Jett seems fake and doesn't have the emotional weight it should. The program aims to be both funny and serious, but it often has trouble finding the perfect balance. It can seem too sweet, like a movie manufactured for TV, instead of a true picture of how people fight and win. Some of the characters' reactions and choices don't seem to match how actual people deal with loss or problems, even if the show tries hard to be empathetic.

The supporting cast helps keep the story grounded.

Mitts and Elena are both strong and weak at different times.

Even though I was unhappy with how the show was going, I still liked Marc Maron's performance as Mitts and Mariana Treviño's work as Elena. Maron gives Mitts his trademark dry humor and a depth of sadness. His character is melancholy because he lost his wife, which adds a gentle sadness to the show's generally happy tone. Elena's role as a protective mother, who is still affected by Santi's father, who is not in touch with him, is another interesting part of the plot. When other sections of the plot seem less stable, these characters help keep the show grounded.

As Pryce's ex-wife Amber-Linn, Judy Greer also does a great job. Timothy Olyphant plays Clark Ross, who used to be Pryce's enemy. These characters aren't the major emphasis, but they help make Stick's world more complete. The show does a wonderful job of avoiding making anyone a clear "good guy" or "bad guy." Instead, it shows folks who are having trouble finding their way. One of the show's subtle strengths is how it treats side characters.

My Last Thoughts on Stick

In the end, Stick is a good program with a lot of good things about it, but it also has some big problems. Owen Wilson does a great job as the main character, and the first few episodes have a touching, underdog feel to them. But I wanted more from the show's latter story decisions, especially the concentration on Zero and some of the golf logic. It could have been a very terrific sports comedy, but it doesn't quite get there. It's not a total miss, but it's also not a hole-in-one.

Apple TV+ has new episodes of Stick season 1.