Driving Ambition

**Driving Ambition** is the forty-first episode of the third series, and the one-hundred-forty-second episode of *The Loud House*.

## Plot

When Lori finds out that the golf coach from her dream college is coming to see her play, she develops the yips.

## Synopsis

Lori is at a golf course with her high school varsity golf team. She manages to putt her ball into the hole with deep concentration, and is cheered by her teammates. Lori's golf coach, Coach Hutch, commends Lori for doing well, and announces that she had invited the golf coach from Fairway University to come and see Lori play. Lori is surprised by this announcement, as she states that it is her dream to attend Fairway University, and believes that if she were to be accepted, she would have a happy life with Bobby and have 11 kids. When Lori tells her parents about this news, Lincoln offers to be Lori's caddie for tomorrow, and Lori gladly accepts.

The next day, Lori and her varsity team are at the golf course, with Lincoln carrying Lori's golf bag. When the coach lets Lori take her turn, Lori, after getting her driver club, swings at the ball, but it doesn't fly far enough. Lori attempts to swing again, but only succeeds in making the ball ricochet off a tree, and fly back to her. Throughout the day, Lori's golf skills seem to have reached a moot point, as Lori can't seem to hit the ball properly, and only succeeding in swinging her ball into a lake, swinging the ball into a golf cart, and failing to get her ball out of the sand trap.

Arriving home, Lori is saddened that her skills have left her, but with a little help from Luna, Lynn and Lola, Lori gets the confidence to try harder. Arriving to Hole In One-derland, Lori attempts to improve her skills, with the sisters giving her some extra assistance:

* When Lori is unable to hold her putter due to the sweat on her hands, Lynn tells her a story of when she had that same problem. During a basketball game, the two teams were tied, and there was only one second on the clock left. Lynn had to make the winning dunk, but because she was sweating so much, she was unable to hold onto the ball. She discovers that she had a secret weapon: talcum powder. She used that to dry her hands to hold onto the ball, and give her team the winning shot. After applying talcum powder to Lori's hands, Lori can now successfully hold onto her putter.
* When Lori attempts to swing at the ball, Lori takes note on how she can't stop shaking. Luna tells her a story of when she had that same problem. During a performance, Luna had trouble keeping herself still, but she told herself to recite a mantra so she can concentrate, and managed to perform without any setbacks. Lori eventually creates her own mantra to concentrate: "Don't overthink it, relax and sink it."
* Before Lori can swing, she takes note on how fast her heart is beating. Lola tells her a story of when she had that same problem. Lola was competing in the Little Miss Cheese Curds pageant, and had an erratic heartbeat. Lola managed to slow her heartbeat with a breathing technique called 4-7-8 (breathe in for four seconds, hold it for seven seconds, and breathe out for eight seconds).

Using all three of these techniques, Lori can successfully putt the ball properly.

The next day, Lori and her team are at the golf course, and Coach Hutch introduces Lori to the golf coach of Fairway University, Coach Niblick. Surprised about his appearance, Lori attempts to hone her skills, but her deep anxiety kicks in, and is unable to combat them with the skills she was told. For the first half of the game, Lori's skills hit their low point again, and as a result, Lori is at the bottom of the scoreboard. As Lori bawls over her failing score, Rita and Lynn Sr. make her feel better by telling her that even if she doesn't end up winning, something good will happen eventually. With this bit of motivation, Lori is able to golf properly, and ends up being in first place.

Despite being the winner, Lori discovers that Coach Niblick is not present, and believes that he left due to her poor playing earlier. Suddenly, it is revealed Coach Niblick is still present. He says he was initially going to leave, but because Lori swung a golf ball into his car windshield, he decided to stay, and as a result, he saw how good of a golf player Lori really is. As a result, he gives Lori a spot in his golf team (as well as a bill for the damage to his broken windshield to Rita and Lynn Sr.).

## Cast

* Tex Hammond as Lincoln
* Catherine Taber as Lori
* Nika Futterman as Luna
* Jessica DiCicco as Lynn
* Grey Griffin as Lana / Lola / Buttery Voiced Narrator
* Jill Talley as Rita / Student
* Brian Stepanek as Lynn Sr. / Professor
* Daran Norris as Coach Niblick / Golf Announcer / Bert
* Jane Lynch as Coach Hutch

Leni, Luan, Lucy, Lisa, Lily, Flip, Bobby, Unnamed City Woman, and the 11 kids in Lori's fantasy have no lines in this episode. Lana is listed in the credits, but aside from cheering, she has no lines.

## Physical distribution

This episode is available on the "Cooked" DVD.

## Trivia

* This is the last episode to be written by Bob Mittenthal, as he is currently a writer for *It's Pony*.
* The title of this episode is a subtle reference to a golf swing being referred to as a "drive".
* On the title card, the tee "Lincoln" is on is orange, referencing his orange polo.
* This episode marks the return of Hole In One-derland, which first appeared in "Back in Black".
* According to Lincoln, Rusty used to be a golf caddie, and got rich off of it from the tips he got.
* According to Lori, the golf clubs she uses were previously owned by Pop-Pop.
* According to Lynn's flashback, she finally won a basketball tournament sometime after the events of "Net Gains".
* **Innuendo**: In the Fairway University video, the professor asks his students what the cube root of 64 is. One of the students yells out "Four!", and the other students, thinking she said "Fore!", quickly duck their heads as if a ball was flying towards them.

## References

* ***Driving Ambition*** - The title of this episode is a phrase that means a very great desire to do or achieve something.
* ***The Golden Girls*** - Some of the names on the scoreboard are the names of the characters in this sitcom:
	+ D. Zbornak - Dorothy Zbornak
	+ R. Nylund - Rose Nylund
	+ B. Deveraux - Blanche Deveraux
	+ S. Petrillo - Sophia Petrillo
* Additional names on the scorecards are for the most part those of famous actresses:
	+ C. Burnett - Carol Burnett
	+ J. Andrews - Julie Andrews
	+ V. Lawrence - Vicki Lawrence
	+ E. Stritch - Elaine Stritch
	+ M. Gonzalez - Miguel Gonzalez (prop designer; in Jordan Koch's original storyboards A. Lansbury [Angela Lansbury] appears in his place)
	+ J. Garland - Judy Garland
* ***Ed McMahon*** - The man who hands Lori an oversized check in her dream sequence is a caricature of the actor and comedian who served as a spokesman for American Family Publishers (not, as commonly believed, the more well-known Publisher's Clearing House, who was known for surprising winners with oversized checks).

## Errors

* During the flashback of Luna's harp concert, Luna was wearing her rocker outfit. In real life she should have worn a formal outfit.
* During the flashback of Lynn's basketball tournament, the bottom part of Lynn's hair is missing in one shot.
* When Lynn sprinkles talcum powder on Lori's hand, the lines on Lori's skirt are longer than usual.

## Videos

A casa dei Loud - Torneo di golf - Nickelodeon ItaliaItalian ClipThe Loud House - Lori's Future - Nickelodeon UKEnglish Clip