Writer:	Jeff Martin
Director:	Rich Moore
Star:	Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, and others),  Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Waylon Smithers, Kent Brockman, and others),  Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, and others),  Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, and Selma Bouvier),  Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson)
Recurring Role:	Maggie Roswell (Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Miss Hoover, and others)

This is the first episode that really explores Homer's rivalry with Ned. (edit) First Appearance: Maude Flanders (edit) Blackboard Joke: I am not a 32 year old woman.
Couch Gag: The family runs in and squeezes in on the couch, but this time Santa’s Little Helper and Snowball II join in as well. (edit)

(Ned's letter to the Simpson's)
Ned: Dear Neighbor, you are my brother. I love you, and yet I feel a great sadness in my bosom.

Neighbor's forever,
Ned Flanders (edit) (Announcer in British accent, commenting on the last hole between Bart and Todd)
Announcer: If one were to look up “courage” in the Oxford English Dictionary, one might very well come upon the photo of these two gladiators. They approach the final hole in the shadow of the great emancipator, deadlocked at eight strokes on the happy side of par. Soon, one man will emerge triumphant. He will drink naught but champagne, while his opponent tastes bitter defeat in this oft cruel game. (edit) (Announcer on P.A. system in British accent)
Announcer: Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the finale of what has already been a stirring afternoon of miniature golf. The cream has risen, the wheat has bid farewell to the chaff, and now we approach the championship match with but two warriors remaining: the heretofore unknown Bart Simpson and Todd Flanders: one of the most skilled ten-year-olds to ever take back the blade. (edit) (Lisa preps Bart before the golf tournament)
Lisa: Eighth hole.
Bart: Aim for the octopus' third tentacle.
Lisa: Twelfth hole.
Bart: Bank it off the pink tombstone.
Lisa: Nirvana.
Bart: State of bliss attained through the extinction of the self. (edit) (Lisa tries to teach Bart a method to clear his mind of distraction.)
Lisa: Bart, I have a riddle for you. What's the sound of one hand clapping?
Bart: Piece of cake.
(Bart opens and closes his right fist quickly, making a sound.)
Lisa: No, Bart. It's a 3000-year-old riddle with no answer. It's supposed to clear your mind of conscious thought.
Bart: No answer? Lisa, listen up.
(Bart quickly opens and closes his fist again.) (edit)

When Homer misses a put, he hops and waves his arms in the same fashion as the mechanical ape he confronts on the miniature golf course. (edit) At the Great Sphinx hole a sign reads "One of the seven wonders of the world." (edit) The library has the following books on Golf: Antidotes, Eisenhower and…, Humor, Japanese Obsession With and Putting. (edit) The following trophy's and awards are visible in Bart's trophy case: 6th Place, Runner up, 4th Place, Honorable Mention, Participant, Everybody gets a trophy day. (edit) Prizes for the Mini Golf Tournament: 1st Place $50, 2nd Place $10, 3rd Place $5, 4th Place 1/2 Price Sno-Cone. Everybody who enters gets a Free Balloon as well. (edit)

Episode Title:

The title of this episode is a reference to the 1989 film Dead Poets Society. (edit) Ned: Mercy is for the weak, Rod!
This line from Flanders, and the crane pose Bart makes on the garbage can are both references to the film The Karate Kid. (edit) Bart: One O'Clock. Still just a potato.
If you look at Bart's notepad, potato is spelled. "potatoe." A quick and funny reference to one of the biggest political jokes ever, when then Vice President Dan Quail misspelled the word in a children's spelling bee. (edit) Fanfare For The Common Man
The scene where the groundskeepers are setting up for the miniature golf tournament is taken from the film Fanfare for the Common Man. (edit) Homer: That shot is impossible. Jack Nicholson himself couldn't make it.
Quick references to Jack Nicklaus the famous golfer who Homer thinks he's talking about, and Jack Nicholson the actor who he ends up saying. (edit)