Well I am back from Reno, and it was as Nationals-y as one could imagine.
To start, I had to cut my trip short due to a family medical situation, but thankfully it stabilized and I was able to go. I flew in on Thursday night, bowled Teams on Friday at 14:00 and minors on Saturday at 10:30.
Teams
Teams felt really familiar, just with less crisp backends than in the last few years. I started game 1 with a Hustle PBR at 1k with a touch of lane shine, laying it down around 10/11, looking at 7/8, and probably hitting 6/7 down near the tracer. That lasted an entire game, actually. For game 2, I moved in and the PBR didn't have enough giddy up, so I switched to a Zen Soul at 3k, and was laying it down around 15, targeting 9 at at the arrows, looking to hit 8/9 down lane. I had to move a few boards during game 2, but it held up for the most part. Then during game 3, I found myself behind the changes. I'd go double split, double split - it was clockwork in game 3. We broke them down really well, I just couldn't quite get the ball to consistently relax in the back part of the lane. I saw smooth reads then violent reads, and I'm not quite sure what else I would have done.
I shot 212, 190, 162 in teams, and our team shot 2995. Between some missed makeables and a few 8 and 9 pins, I'd say we collectively left at least 100 pins out there. Teams is extremely gettable this season.
Minors
Minors felt different this season, quite a bit so. I heard from my teammates that bowled the Journal that there was a speed bump and that they were touchy as could be downlane. So when I got to S/D, I was surprised to see lazy backends. I tried a few balls during practice, and wound up starting game 1 with the Hustle PBR standing on 8, looking at 6/7, and just keeping it straight on line. The ball had enough surface to read and sit, which seemed to be a safe play given what else was happening out there. This line stayed there for a game and change, actually.
Once they changed, that first transition confused me to no end. It was a slow and gross transition. The backends felt a little tighter, so I balled up and tried a Track Stealth at 1500, and it was surprisingly over/under. I just could not get that ball to do the right thing. I tried this ball everywhere between 5 and 13 - nothing good. Game 2 stunk.
For game 3, I switched to my Zen Soul and had to keep my hand soft to get it to read well, and I had a good look for a while. I started game 3 with the Zen Soul laying it down around 13, looking at 8/9, and trying to hit 6/7 downlane. I finished the game 17-11-8/9. This was a solid game.
For game 4, I got lost again. I found myself fishing, move left two, then back right 2, then left 2, then back right 2. Nothing wanted to stay consistent, and the other 3 bowlers on my pair saw something similar. Game 4 was a stinker too.
For game 5, I balled up to a Reality Check at 3k - I was hoping the stronger cover and core would at least give me consistency, and it sure did. It also put me on a small island, since I was able to start getting in. I started game 5 laying it down around 20, looking at 12, trying to hit 10 downlane. What was cool is that I had probably 1 or 2 boards miss room to the right, and maybe a little bit of miss room to the left.
This line stayed pretty consistent during game 6, as I only had to move 4 boards over the last 2 games, and kept targeting the range finder down lane. The Reality Check was a great ball for me, and I'm a bit bummed I didn't try it earlier in the block.
Overall, Minors felt like bowling schizophrenia. Lots of small moves back and forth, and the lanes took ages to develop.
Doubles: 198, 141, 199
Singles: 138, 219, 239
Final Thoughts
Overall, it was definitely another Nationals lol. Teams felt very familiar, and S/D felt like pure chaos. One thing I found odd is that my Reality at 2k was out of play all 9 games - it was just too much ball with that much surface. The rest were in play (Zen Soul, Reality Check, Stealth, Hustle PBR), it was just a matter of when to use them. I did find myself having to ball up the further in I got in, but that may be a result of me being able to trick the lanes for a game with a low flare ball. If I had to do it again, I'd find a ball between the PBR and Zen Soul in terms of strength - something like Hyped Solid, IQ Tour Solid, Rattler, etc. Then my first move would be a little less drastic, and then I could just hop in with the rest of the gang later in the block.
My teammates saw a lot of success with a Nova, a TNT with shine, a DNA with shine, an Exotic Gem, IQ Tour Solid, and the IQ Tour Ruby was the absolute nut in game 3 of team.
Oh, also - the settee area in the stadium is absolutely ridiculous. There's this horseshoe of seats and maybe 4-5 people can fit around it without falling into each other. And for whatever effing reason, other teams put their gear on our storage shelves? So we wound up crowding our area really badly with our bags. For a place that's dedicated to tournament bowling, and having literally years to renovate, this new design hurts the bowlers the most. I was extremely unimpressed.
Hopefully this helps those going out! Bowl well and have fun.
