Dead Putting Society - Production

Production

"Dead Putting Society" was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Rich Moore. Martin was an experienced miniature golfer and based much of the golf-related scenes in the script on his own experiences. Parts of this episode are also based on the 1984 film The Karate Kid, including the way Bart practices for the miniature golf tournament by balancing on a trash can in a "crane position". For "Dead Putting Society", the animators went on a field trip to a local miniature golf course to study the mechanics of a golf club swing. Moore commented that the reason for this was that much of the humor on The Simpsons comes from making the scenery look lifelike; "The realism of the background serves as the straight man for the absurd situations."

This episode was the first to prominently feature Ned Flanders and the rest of the Flanders family, and contained the first appearances of Maude and Rod Flanders. Maggie Roswell was given the role of Maude, Ned's loving wife, and became a regular cast member with this episode. She had previously played supporting parts in the show's first season. Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart, commented on Roswell's acting: "Maggie has been blessed with a skill in creating one of the hardest things to create: the 'normal sound,' whatever that is. So she can easily slip into the gal next door ."