Stick (Apple+ series, one season... so far)

As of posting this, Season two has been confirmed...

Promotion and Writing


This series was promoted as the next “Ted Lasso”… but with golf.
While this was a good way to promote it, it was also to its detriment. I’d only just experienced that series for the first time this year and it was VERY fresh in my memory.
They have two things in common- the main character is a middle aged white dude, played by a well known actor, and it revolves around some sport.

For me, Ted Lasso was a very “cozy” series. Meaning it was a lighthearted mix of drama, humor and pop culture references… but mostly because I almost never had to worry about the show hitting that “point of no return”- where some irreconcilable drama happens that derails the entire plot and it's a slow painful slog until it gets fixed... assuming it gets fixed at all.

Stick, unfortunately, had a few of those extra dramatic moments. One of these moments spanned an entire episode and it took the entire half hour runtime for a last minute epiphany to magically solve the problem.

Granted, I’m thankful it didn't last past an episode… but it also felt so rushed that I complained the writing wasn’t very good.


Watching this as a golf fan

I hadn’t read many reviews just to keep my perspective pure but I did read one with a notable criticism— it’s a show about golf, but the golfing terminology left something to be desired. This one reviewer complained that this one tournament or going pro was referred to as “the dance”- when that term does not exist in the golf world.
But hey- I’d been watching golf for years. So for me, it was accurate enough and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It also taught me something I spent the last 30 years knowing nothing about. Namely why we have the different numbered clubs, woods vs irons and so on. The number determines the amount of curvature in the club face, which is why some are built better for longer distances.

And while this show didn’t have a lot of the heavy hitters like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy making cameos, they did have Keegan Bradley and Collin Morikawa among others.
If Ted Lasso had any cameos, I didn’t know who they were. But I’m also not a soccer fan and I still don't get why the clock counts upward and how/why time gets added after the initial 90 minutes.


The characters


When we first meet Pryce “Stick” Cahill, he’s working at a pro shop and sells a customer on some heavy duty (not to mention expensive) hardware.
But beyond that, to paraphrase Taylor Swift, he’d been “sleeping… in a 20 year dark night.” He’s on the cusp of a divorce, his house is a mess and he’s still grieving a very traumatic loss.

He comes across Santiago “Santi” Wheeler, a 17 year old prodigy who can drive over 300 yards when he sneaks into the local driving range between shifts at his after school job. So Pryce gets the idea to be his coach and get him into the tour. Of course he has a lot of convincing to do- both with Santi and his mom, Elena, and his friend/caddie Mitts. Mostly making sure he’s in this for the right reasons. That Santi, the kid not the golfer, comes first.
Along the way, they also meet Zero, who later joins the group as Santi’s caddie and later love interest.

At one point or another, all of the characters did get on my nerves over something. They also got on each other’s nerves, whether it’s Mitts thinking Pryce’s idea is crazy or Elena being frustrated with Mitts when he tried to talk her out of investing all of her windfall (courtesy of Pryce to get her onboard) in one thing… you have a lot of strong personalities in close proximity for an extended amount of time, it’s bound to happen. Plus they come to consider each other family and families argue.

I’m not sure if I’m alone in this but I could understand if people found Zero a polarizing character. Especially if those that aren't gen Z.
I’m a year away from 40 and I never felt closer to that age than I did watching this show and feeling out of the loop.
Whether it’s the ever growing “correct pronouns” conversation (which to me is ridiculous when Zero also said “she/her” was acceptable…) or the flagrant disregard for adults and authority figures Zero and the other gen Z characters seem to have… a lot of the conversations involving the younger characters grated on my nerves. So yeah, I've officially become one of those people who gripes about the younger generations.

One plus about the writing, uneven as it can be sometimes, is how it explains and navigates a lot of these disagreements.
Zero worked as a server/bartender at a country club and got harassed by the patrons… so I can understand developing a thick skin and not trusting adults.
Same with Elena in that conversation with Mitts. I understood where he was coming from by encouraging her to diversify her investments. But because she had to fight for her livelihood as a single parent and a woman, it’s important to her personally that she stands up for herself. And she’s done her research so she’s aware of the risks but still willing to take the chance.

And to be honest, Santi got on my nerves sometimes too. Yeah, he’s gifted but when he didn’t listen to Pryce’s advice and things went sideways, he didn’t handle things well.

We also have Mitts the curmudgeon but over time we learn more about him and he grows on you.


The Show

Now we’re getting into some spoiler territory…


For the actual show itself, yeah, it had its ups and downs. It wasn’t perfect but it ultimately came through in the times where it really mattered.
There’s a lot of heart and the characters go through a lot together. And while it had a good finale, there’s room for more story.

The first few episodes are the introductory period, getting to know the characters and their relationships and personalities.
In addition to being his former caddie, Mitts has a history of helping Pryce with various hustles. Usually involving alcohol and heated arguments at bars and Pryce showing the other person up in the end.
The series starts with a hustle and we get at least one more later on.

After this group of misfits come together, Santi has to qualify for the amateur championship. Pryce instructs him as his caddie which clubs to use in different situations. As a prodigy, Santi has great instincts but he’s still young enough where that isn’t sustainable in the long run.
They eventually butt heads and it becomes a slippery slope. We hear about his dad a few times, how he’d coached him and his coaching style put him off playing for a few years and his dad took off.

Zero comes in around this time and the two of them hit it off quickly. So Pryce gets the bright idea to have Zero caddie and he’ll signal from the sidelines which clubs to use. Plus, with the two of them being around the same age, it might be a better arrangement.
My one little nitpick- and this is another generational grip. Some of Zero’s comments, saying to Santi something like “as long as you feel safe” before leaving when Pryce wants to have a few words one on one, and later about “holding space” or “having space” in a conversation with Mitts and he rolls his eyes at the terminology… yeah I can’t help but agree. Gen Z is weird about stuff like this coupled with this whole “distrust of authority” thing.

But as friends and later a couple, Santi and Zero are great together. It’s nice having a friend your own age on the road but also for someone like Zero who’s a self proclaimed nomad, it’s nice having someone you feel comfortable around enough to be yourself.
But like all sorts of background arrangements in media, the truth comes out and things blow up between everyone. Obviously things would work themselves out but it’s hard to trust sometimes. I definitely didn’t want this to be a 3+ episode arc.

The later episodes revolve around the last chance for Santi to qualify for the pro circuit and it involves getting an exemption from an old rival of Pryce’s.
He reminded me a little of the bad guy from Happy Gilmore although not nearly as antagonistic or stuck on himself… although he spend a lot of his time in retirement riding on the coattails of a handful of victories. Including insurance advertisements, a golfing academy and a fancy steakhouse.
While we don’t get to see Pryce’s infamous career ending meltdown, we get a decent picture of what it was like because this was the guy he ultimately lost to… and I think Pryce beat him up afterwards. It all circles back to the loss Pryce is still grieving… now we sort of know why he blew up like he did. And can you honestly blame him?

The final hurdle takes place over the season finale. When Santi is riding the high of finally taking the lead and going viral on TikTok, his dad comes back into the picture… and it goes about as well as you’d expect.
His dad had a mercurial coaching style where he’d be his best friend when he’s doing well but become hypercritical and dismissive when he was not.
Elena talked about it a few times and here we finally see it and it’s ugly. When you’re having a rough time, the last thing you need is for someone to talk down to you and grumble about you needing to “play better” without any constructive advice on how to achieve that.
Had this not gone sideways, he probably would’ve taken credit for his success even though he didn’t show up until the final day of the tournament. The worst part is him assuming no responsibility for any of the bad turns even when it was his advice that got him there in the first place.
The only thing I wish we had was just someone laying a massive tirade on him or at least Elena slapping him. Either way, people like him we sadly just accept will never change.
Unlike Tin Cup (heavy sarcasm implied), at least we get a decent redemption arc to close it all out. And there’s definitely plenty of room left for subsequent seasons.

As a final note, the Simon and Garfunkel song “Cecilia” makes a number of appearances throughout the series. Pryce said how it was a song he’d recall to ground himself in his uncertain moments and how it guarantees a smile.
Let’s just say good luck getting it out of your head after finishing the final episode…
I can count the number of S&G songs I know on one hand and this became another to add. And yes, I still have it going through my head and that was a couple days ago, lol