Jason Keller shares how his father’s baseball past inspired Stick and discusses the show’s commitment to authentic golf scenes and emotional storytelling.
“We really wanted the golf to be authentic,” Keller says of how important authenticity was to ‘Stick.’ “We wanted golf fanatics to watch the show and feel that we got it right. That was a primary focus for us on this show. When I tell you that part of every day was spent checking, rechecking, and asking the questions. Is the golf right here? Is Peter’s swing right? Is Owen picking up the golf bag correctly? Is he putting the golf club back in the bag the way that a high-level golfer would do it. We got granular with wanting to get that part of it right.”
In this wide-ranging interview, ‘Stick’ creator Jason Keller opens up about the deeply personal origins of the Apple TV+ golf drama, inspired in part by his father’s brief career as a professional baseball player. Keller details the show’s commitment to authenticity, from accurate golf swings to realistic tournament atmospheres, all achieved without direct involvement from the PGA. He reflects on working with real-life broadcasters like Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman, who brought their own unscripted flair to key scenes. The conversation also touches on the challenges of filming on real courses and the happy coincidence of the ‘Stick’ finale premiering just days before ‘Happy Gilmore 2.’
‘Stick’ is a fresh, character-driven golf comedy from creator Jason Keller, starring and executive produced by Owen Wilson. Wilson plays Pryce Cahill, a washed-up former pro golfer whose life has unraveled since his career was cut short two decades ago. After losing his job and going through a divorce, Pryce stakes everything on mentoring a gifted but troubled 17-year-old golf prodigy named Santi (Peter Dager). Set against the backdrop of the golf world, ‘Stick’ blends humor and heart in a story about second chances, unlikely bonds, and the power of found family.
Apple released the first three episodes of ‘Stick’ on June 4. New episodes will premiere weekly on Wednesdays through July 23.
Awards Focus: It’s so nice to meet you today. How are you doing?
Jason Keller: I’m good. Thank you.
AF: I’m a baseball fan, so I could probably spend this entire interview asking about your father’s baseball stories, but then there would be nothing in our conversation about golf.
Keller: Another conversation, another conversation.
AF: What was the genesis behind the creation of Stick?
Keller: Well, it was my father. Having a pro baseball player father was a very influential part of my growing up. My dad played—as you probably know, being a fan of baseball—parts of two seasons. He had a cup of coffee in the pros before deciding to pursue another career. That was a story that I grew up with and always heard and knew that my dad was a professional athlete when he was younger.
I was just interested in what that must have been like for him to move away from baseball. I mean, baseball was the passion of his life. That was really the genesis of the character of Pryce Cahill. Pryce Cahill and my dad are two very different characters, but that was sort of the genesis of it was his his career.
Having seen golf movies like Tin Cup and Happy Gilmore, I appreciated how Stick comes off as a show with a different level of involvement with the golf feeling so authentic as far as what we see on screen.
AF: Keller: I love that you feel that way about it. We really wanted the golf to be authentic. We wanted golf fanatics to watch the show and feel that we got it right. That was a primary focus for us on this show. When I tell you that part of every day was spent checking, rechecking, and asking the questions. Is the golf right here? Is Peter’s swing right? Is Owen picking up the golf bag correctly? Is he putting the golf club back in the bag the way that a high-level golfer would do it. We got granular with wanting to get that part of it right.
Yeah. What was the collaboration process with the PGA?
AF: Keller: They really weren’t part of the development of this show. We were sort of doing this just by ourselves. So not much. This was really kind of an Apple thing.
AF: On my part, I should have phrased that differently, especially when there’s so many PGA players that pop up with cameos.
Keller: Well, the collaboration with those guys was really fun and it was a dream. It was tricky to get them there. They’re really busy; they’re busy guys. But once we got them there, they were so involved. They had a point of view about what we were doing.
They were great on camera. They aren’t professional actors. We handed them scenes to do in front of 250 crew members. The light is fading, the wind is coming up, and they were just super pros in front of the camera and a lot of fun. That was a great collaboration with those guys.
AF: One of the things that’s always had me curious while watching sports movies or even TV shows that use real-life broadcasters—such as Jim Nantz or Trevor Immelman—is how much of their lines are ad-libbed and how much were scripted?
Keller: Love the question. We scripted what we needed them to say for all of the scenes for Jim and Trevor. They had read the scripts and they had read their scenes and when we got to filming them, they also had a point of view. Jim Nantz would say, Oh, I think this is what I would say when Santi makes this fantastic putt. Of course, it was always better than what we wrote in their scenes. I think they’re that sort of level of authenticity. I think you can just see it in those Jim and Trevor scenes. I think it’s really fun to watch those guys. I watch those scenes with those guys and it makes me smile every time because that is the two of them in a very authentic way.
AF: The moment I heard Hello friends, I’m like, yeah, that’s Jim Nantz.
Keller: Totally. Like you, I love that guy’s voice. It’s just so great.
AF: What sort of research process went into creating the series?
Keller: Certainly. Everybody involved in this show spent a lot of time looking at the world of golf—from a dialogue standpoint, from a terminology standpoint, through wardrobe, production design. We wanted the courses to feel and look a certain way. We wanted the bigger tournaments to feel like the level of tournaments that they were, sort of regional tournaments, and then into sort of bigger national tournaments. There’s a difference between what you’re seeing in one versus the other in terms of signage and the number of crowd. We were always researching every aspect of the game of golf to get it right for the show.
AF: How long did it take to find the right golf course to use for those final episodes?
Keller: Another great question. I appreciate the questions. That was very tricky. We shot in Vancouver in the summer. There are great golf courses in Vancouver, but people are playing golf on them. It was a difficult process to find the right look on a golf course and then schedule a time when we could take over a course for two days or two weeks. We took over a course for almost two full weeks for Episode 9 and 10. It was difficult to figure it out, but we pulled it off. We had a great location department, a great producer in Kathy Gilroy up in Vancouver. It was tricky, but we managed it.
AF: Yeah. I grew up two hours south of your hometown, so I’m very familiar with attending PGA and Senior PGA events.
Keller: Oh, did you? Where?
AF: Louisville.
Keller: Oh, you did? Okay. I love Louisville. Great town.
AF: Yeah. I’ve been to Valhalla when it’s storming and they’ve had to close the course for the day. That was fun.
Keller: That’s—I would love to have been there. That sounds beautiful, actually. That’s cool.
AF: The finale premieres just two days before Happy Gilmore 2 is released—is this coincidence or is there some sort of conspiracy theory to keep people talking about golf all summer long?
Keller: No. Somebody just told me that the other day. I didn’t realize that was happening. I know. It’s a funny coincidence. We’re gonna be seeing some golf this summer. That’s for sure.
AF: Thank you so much. It was a pleasure to meet you and enjoy the premiere.
Keller: Thanks so much. Great to meet you.