"Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated," Arnold Palmer once mused.
"It satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening.
"And it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented."
While devotees of other sports would dispute the last claim from the seven time Major champion, few would quibble with his depiction of the sport.
Golf is unique.
There are few sports where mere mortals can play on the same hallowed turf as their icons.
Golfers can tee off on legendary courses like St Andrews, Valhalla and Royal County Down when they're not hosting big tournaments.
Few sports offer spectators too the opportunity to get right up close to their heroes like golf - particularly when stars like Rory McIlroy, Bryson de Chambeau or Jordan Spieth get a bit errant off the tee.
As those who were privileged to attend the Open golf championship last week at Royal Portrush will testify, when a fan favourite like McIlroy gets on a roll the atmosphere is also electric.
Golf fans are always on the lookout, though, for the next big thing - the next Scheffler, the next Jon Rahm, the next Brooks Koepka.
And that's something that Jason Keller's Apple TV+ golf protege sitcom 'Stick' really understands.
Owen Wilson plays Pryce Cahill, a former PGA star whose promising career famously blew up at the 2009 Sawgrass Invitational when his rival, Timothy Olyphant's Clark Ross made a nasty comment about his dead son.
Booted off the tour after punching his nemesis, Pryce's marriage to Judy Greer's Amber-Lynn has subsequently fallen apart and he is reduced to selling golf clubs to fans while struggling to hold on to the family home.
While coaching at a driving range, Pryce spots Peter Dager's Santi Wheeler hitting balls with stunning accuracy and distance and makes it his mission to help the young man abandon his job in a local supermarket and make a name for himself in the amateur ranks.
To get Santi on board, he has to win over his mother, Maria Trevino's Elena who demands $100,000 upfront and a promise that Pryce will pay their expenses for them if they join him on the road.
Pryce also persuades his cynical former caddy, Marc Maron's Mitts to drive the three of them around from tournament to tournament in a Winnebago.
While Santi undoubtedly has raw talent, his temperament is fragile with him responding badly on the course to any criticism.
This is because it reminds him of how his competitive, golf mad father who abandoned him and mum and behaved terribly any time his talented son had a slump on the course.
During their trek across the US, Pryce, Santi, Elena and Mitts fall out and then bond.
Santi falls for Lilli Kay's free spirited golf club bartender Zero.
Elena and Mitts surprisingly become close.
Pryce continues to bottle up his grief over his son but is wildly enthusiastic about Santi.
However his tendency to gamble occasionally puts a strain on his relationship with the entire group.
All paths lead to an inevitable confrontation with Pryce's nemesis Clark Ross who has really profited in the sport.
But while Santi's talent catches the eye of the golfing world, it also reignites Pryce's love for the game.
Can the group, however, overcome their demons and turn Santi into a major force in the aport?
With scripts by Keller, Christopher Moynihan, Esti Giordani, Bill Callahan, Kate Fodor, Bryan Johnson, Jimy Shah and Ryan Hooper, 'Stick' emerges as one of the most amiable TV shows of 2025.
Its central characters are easy to warm to, its humour is laid back and its plots are never dull.
Throughout the 10 episode run, you find yourself rooting for this group of underdogs even when they dust up against each other.
Wilson is his usual charming self in the main role, with Dager emerging as a good foil for him.
Trevino, Maron, Kay and Greer amuse, while Olyphant perfectly slots into the role of the arrogant villain.
Mackenzie Astin makes an impression towards the end of the show as Santi's pushy dad Gary.
Real life PGA golfers, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, Brad Dalka and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley all make cameo appearances - even if they are a bit stiff.
Real life commentators Jim Nance and South African 2008 US Masters champion Trevor Immelman make appearances too.
And after two handsomely made opening episodes from the 'Little Miss Sunshine's and 'Battle of the Sexes' directorial pair Valerie Farris and Jonathan Dayton, fellow directors David Dobkin, Jaffar Mahmood, MJ Delaney and John Hamburg comfortably take up the reins and deliver well made episidss.
Needle drops from Simon and Garfunkel, Thin Lizzy, the White Stripes, T. Rex, ZZ Top, Chappell Roan, the Pixies, Willie Nelson, Etta James, The Kinks, Graham Nash and David Crosby, among others, only add to the sense of enjoyment.
And if you can forgive some dodgy narrative excesses in the final episode that stretch credulity including one involving the Simon and Garfunkel song 'Cecilia,' 'Stick' emerges as one of the sweetest shows on TV this year.
Like Santi's career, there's a lot to build on here.
It may feel very comfortable, middle of the fairway stuff but if it is done very well, sometimes middle of the fairway comedy is all you need.
Let's hope it goes from strength to strength in Season Two.
(Season One of 'Stick' was made available for streaming on Apple TV+ between June 4-July 24, 2025)
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