Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. Doug Pratt, a DVD reviewer and "Rolling Stone" contributor, praised the episode as one of the best from season two. He commented that the miniature golf challenges "are delightful, the denouncement is highly amusing... and the beauty of the whole episode is that it could just as easily be an episode in a live action TV sitcom, though the slight touches of fancy enabled by the animation enhance its comic impact." Dusty Sanders of the "Rocky Mountain News" commented that the title of the episode is "funnier than the content of most TV sitcoms". DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented that "considering what a prominent character Flanders became, it's strange to realize that 'Dead Putting Society' was the first show to feature him heavily. He'd made some token appearances in the past—most notably in season one's 'Call of the Simpsons'—but 'Dead Putting Society' much more clearly defined the Ned we'd come to know and love. It also featured scads of good little bits and gags and seemed like a solid program."