An imaginary floating bear leads Ralph Wiggum to a tall green hedge. Pushing through it, he discovers a golf course, which he describes to his classmates as a magical land with Easter eggs, clown pants and "baby cars anyone can drive."
Bart, Milhouse , Nelson and others go to the tall green hedge and see the golf course for themselves: the Easter eggs are golf balls, the golf carts are baby cars and the clown pants are the clown pants the golfers wear. Jimbo is a caddy, sucking up to Dr. Hibbert.
Bart and Milhouse get jobs as caddies. Milhouse isn't very good at it, his attempts to suck up to Mr. Burns fall flat. But Bart is a natural, and soon he's earning more money than Homer. But Marge is worried that sucking up to rich guys will warp Bart's personality, and tries to get the golf club shut down.
Marge's petition to "stop coddling SJWs" gets thousands of signatures on Pester dot org, from people who failed to realize that she was using the acronym "SJW" to mean something other than its usual meaning.
Club president Bildorf (Stephen Root) is worried that Marge's petition is gaining traction. Bart gives Bildorf the idea to declare golf a religion. Bildorf likes the idea and tips Bart $100.
Mayor Quimby (Dan Castellaneta) proclaims golf a religion and the Springfield Junipers golf club a church. Marge gets Bart to see the error of his ways and quit the golf club. Bart had been saving up to buy an ATV, but instead uses his money to rent several ATVs for his classmates to run rampart over the golf course, ruining it.
Bildorf doesn't care, the damage is superficial. But the club will be shut down anyway, because, like all new religions, it has devolved into a sex cult.
Tropes:
- Acronym Confusion: Unable to write Springfield Junipers Wealthy in full on her petition, Marge shortens it to SJW–which the media mistakes for Social Justice Warriors
- Artistic License – Geography: Apparently, there has always been a golf course smack dab in the middle of Springfield.
- Ascended Meme: Bart demonstrates how to walk backwards into a hedge, as Homer famously does in "Homer Loves Flanders".
- Bait-and-Switch: Bart storms the golf club with the ATV he was looking at earlier in the episode. At first it appears he bought it with his caddy money, but then he reveals that he rented it instead... along with several others for his friends, who proceed to tear up the grounds.
- Call-Back: Bart demonstrates how to walk backwards into a hedge, as Homer famously does in "Homer Loves Flanders".
- Daydream Surprise: The episode opens with Ralph leading the "Parade Day Parade" with his imaginary friends. In reality, he's marching in front of traffic, the cars honking at him to get off the street.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Homer's kids are aghast to discover that he's putting dryer sheets inside the roll of rubber-banded cash he carries around to make it look bigger:Bart: You pad your wad?Homer: I'm not the father you thought you married!
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: The president of the golf club wants Bart to make Marge call off her campaign against the club, something Bart has already been trying to get her to do. As he attempts to explain that his mother is a stubborn person who "never backs down no matter how wrong she is," he gasps and exclaims, "That's why she's still married to my dad!"
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Bildorf's plan to make the country club a church for tax purposes backfires in the worst way. As Chief Wiggum explains, "Every new religion ends up becoming a sex cult."
- Hypocritical Humor: After Marge manages to close the golf club, Bart complains to her that she's never dealt with bringing something to the world, caring for it, and worrying about it as she watches it grow.
- Negative Continuity: Contrary to how Bart and his friends react, not only is this not the first time we've seen a golf club in Springfield, it's not even the first time Bart has earned money at one (Season 20's "Lost Verizon" saw him in the less-lucrative unofficial capacity of finding lost golf balls for $1 tips).
- Oh, Crap!: Marge's reaction when Lisa tells her that the initials for Springfield Junipers Wealthy–SJW–also stands for Social Justice Warriors.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: Bart becomes this, realizing that it's the whole nature of the caddying job (he's inspired to get hired in the first place when he sees how well it's working out for Jimbo Jones), and he's great at it, quickly earning huge tips. Marge is upset when she watches this in action and does everything she can to get Bart out of the job, finally admitting her fear that leaning into this behavior might destroy something she admires about Bart: an independent spirit which doesn't need the approval of others. As a longtime example of this trope himself, Homer is unconcerned, feeling that sucking up is simply what a person has to do to succeed in America.
- Put on a Prison Bus: Wiggum arrests Bildorf for starting a sex cult.
- Scam Religion: On Bart's suggestion, Bildorf makes the country club a church for the tax exemptions.
- Shout-Out: The ending, where Bart and friends destroy the golf course, references Caddyshack. In The Stinger, Ralph appears as the gopher dancing to "I'm Alright".
- So Proud of You: Homer and Marge are enormously pleased that Bart has a job. Marge retracts her pride when she realizes that all his money is earned through sucking up.
- A Tale Told by an Idiot: Ralph describes a circus-like "playground" full of clowns in oversized pants, tiny cars, and Easter eggs. Bart's friends decide to check it out and find he's talking about a country club course filled with golfers, golf carts, and golf balls.
