With "Stick," Apple TV+ tries to replicate the success of one of its biggest hits, "Ted Lasso," by transferring the action from soccer to golf, and the likable everyman star from Jason Sudeikis to Owen Wilson.

Wilson plays Pryce Cahill, once a top pro on the tour and now working as a salesperson and coach years after a mid-tournament meltdown cost him his career. The signs of what he once had are everywhere, from his rusted yellow Porsche to a beautiful home filled with detritus and an ex-wife, Amber-Linn (Judy Greer), who wishes he'd move on already.

The promise of a fresh start arrives one ordinary day at a local club, when Pryce stumbles upon the miraculous golf strength and pinpoint accuracy of teenager Santi Wheeler (Peter Dager), who works in the stockroom of a grocery store and sneaks in jaw-dropping shots at the driving range whenever he can.

Co-stars include Marc Maron as Pryce's best friend and former caddie. The creator of the 10-episode series, Jason Keller, is a veteran screenwriter with credits including "Ford v Ferrari."

Wilson is the perfect actor for this. He's got the precise kind of hangdog charm to make you care about Pryce even when he can't seem to get out of his own way.

This is the sort of person who will run a hustle to make some quick cash, who might be hauled into jail for having too many unpaid parking tickets, who can't seem to ever do or say the right thing.

But he wants to be better, he recognizes talent when he sees it and he knows his way around a golf course. 

The star gets this in a kind of fundamental way, and even if this isn't going to be remembered as the role for which Wilson stretched outside of his comfort zone, he knows how to make Pryce seem kind and well-intentioned, even when the character's at his most desperate.

Keller leans into this with gusto. He's won most of the battle simply by casting the part correctly and a viewing of the first three episodes reveals a perfectly calibrated establishing of a solid redemptive arc. 

Of course, it's imperfect. It's not a hole-in-one, by any means, or an eagle. It's a birdie. Maybe a par. Pick your golf metaphor. 

The storytelling hits the most obvious and predictable beats, without deviating from the sports story formula. Several characters are too broadly drawn to be convincing.

Some of the comedy bits strain credulity to the point where you don't really laugh, and then they still go on and on. Maron didn't need to spend nearly an entire episode trapped under a bed, for example.

But there's no room for cynics here. If you're looking for groundbreaking high art, you won't find it at a golf comedy. If you're after a little bit of solace, a tiny measure of happiness and feel-good uplift when we could all use it, "Stick" has the goods.

Owen Wilson makes it work.