I am heading out tomorrow for Reno. I'll be bowling on Monday and Tuesday next week. There have been a few postings about people's experiences at the USBC Open this year. I was hoping to get a few more before I have to bowl. Anyone who has bowled, please let me and others know what you found. I would be interested in what type of ball you used (aggressive coverstock, High/Low RG, etc.), the surface you had it at, and what reactions you saw. I think last year, I may have been throwing too aggressive a ball/too much surface. I had some issues with the ball not hooking and I think it was bleeding too much energy as the NBS does have some built in friction. Just curious as to what others have seen. Thanks in advance for taking the time to share, good or bad.

Thanks....yes it was a little late for me...but not for many others.
 
I wish I could have said the same thing about my all events score. ALl I can say it was the best I had in over 4 years.....but the last 3 years had been my worst ever so it's not saying much to beat them.

DrBob,
    No worries. I know I appreciate all who post their findings as it just gives me perspective and I think others do as well. So as I said, your post will be useful to many others. I used to post mine, but as I said, the last 2-3 years haven't been my finest performances and I refrained figuring I would cause more damage than help, lol. I am putting together my notes for this year and will be putting something up this weekend, hopefully. It was a bit different for me than some prior years and I wish I would have trusted my instincts a little more.....they turned out to be right even though they seemed against what you should "normally" do at Nationals.

General question: Is there a limit to the number of balls you can take to the lane area with you? I am unfamiliar with the tournament rules and just wanted an idea if you are limited to only 2-3 balls or if you can have as many as you want in the bowling area (I don't mean on the rack, but in bags in the area).

I would contact USBC directly on that. I don't see that question answered in the FAQs on the tournament website. I think it's capped at 8 balls, but not 100% sure.

 I'd suggest trying to keep it simple for you, a spare ball, a shiny "flippy" ball, your favorite "oil" ball for the team, and something between @2000 abralon. Too many options can be confusing on tough patterns.

Also, Jorge, thanks for the kind reply. I understand struggles, this tournament can make us humble if you're not sharp.

One person can only have 6 balls checked in for an event.

The following is from the 2014 USBC Open rules page which can be found here:

http://usbcongress.http.internapcdn.net/usbcongress/bowl/tournaments/pdfs/usbcopenchamp/2014/2014OCruleforWEB.pdf

BOWLING BALLS
Every bowler must have a bowling ball and shoes for his/her exclusive use. Each
entrant will be allowed a maximum of eight bowling balls. Only USBC approved
bowling balls will be allowed and MUST have the manufacturer’s name, product
name and serial number clearly visible at all times for identification purposes. Balls
and drilling must meet all USBC specifications. All bowling balls may be checked for
compliance with USBC Equipment Specifications.

I am putting together my notes for this year and will be putting something up this weekend, hopefully. It was a bit different for me than some prior years and I wish I would have trusted my instincts a little more.....they turned out to be right even though they seemed against what you should "normally" do at Nationals.

Looking forward to your report on how you saw the lanes play and what type of equipment/surfaces you used.  I'm going near the end of May and need all the advice I can get.  Struggled pretty bad last year (my 1st Nats) and looking to improve.

Ok, this is what I saw at Reno this year:
 
Team event: This year I found it very similar to last year. The team concept is going to very important. I think the shot will be about the same as last year. If you can get 5-10 guys to break down the lanes around 5-6-7 during practice, I think you will have a very good chance to score well. I think the shot is in the 8-9-10 area for the best scoring. I used a Darkness at OOB surface. I did that because of my ball speed (around 18-19 MPH at the pins) and the fact I come up the back more than around the side of the ball (at about 380-390 RPM). As the lanes break down, we just moved in little by little using the burn you created. We did not break the lanes down as a team, and I think that is still a very important asepct to the team event.
 
Doubles/Singles: Based on what I had seen watching friends bowling the Bowler's Journal, I started off Doubles with my Reax Pearl, at 4000 abralon by hand surface (basically just knocked the shine off of the ball). This worked well to start, playing basically the same line as I started in team event. The issues I saw was when the transition occured. I tried to move in like I did in team event and found it a struggle. The ball continued to seem to not make the corner as I moved in, but would overhook if I stayed right. I tried switching to an Mystic Aura OOB surface to try to get more on the backend, still had the same reaction moving in. I then went back to the Darkness to try to cut through some of the oil moving in, and it did a little but with it's symettrical core, it still didn't make enough of a turn on the back. I finally made a drastic move to the right, and started using the Darkness straight up 4. This turned into a great move as I rung up the first 6 strikes, before a pull left me a 3-6-10 pin. I got the strikes in 8 and 9 but then wound up pulling the first one in the tenth for a 4 pin. Then on the fill ball I got it a little right (since I didn't want to pull it again) and left the short rail for a nice 253 game. The guys who bowled the Journal saw this as well....the more games you got on the D/S pattern, the tighter they seemed to get. Don't be afraid to try going out during D/S, I wish now I would have tried this move as soon as the Reax Pearl started going to long....cause no one else was out there so this line would have been there even then....but not sure what it would have looked like after more games on it though.
 
Just my thoughts, I hope this helps some of you as you prepare to go to Reno. Good Luck to you all.

Here is how things went for me...

I must say that this year... Both team and minors events had more hook then what I have seen in years past...

Team:

We started off trying to work a line around 10-12 at the arrows with break point around 8-9.. pretty much straight up the boards... But didn't seem to help since the other team just sprayed it all over the place.. but we gave it a shot. For me it just wasn't the best line with the equipment that I had with me (Virtual Gravity 2000 pin up; Hot Sauce Solid 2000 Pin down; Crossroad 2500 polish pin up..but Didn't use in team) I used the VG for all 3 games and I had to move left and played the same line for the first 2 games targeting roughly 15-17 at the arrows with breakpoint at 9-7... Then toward the end of game 2 the transition started and I just moved in to a few boards and finished with a nice 221... (574 for team... missed some easy spares or else it would of been 610+)

Minors:

Since watching some minor events on bowl tv and at the stadium I already knew that there was going to be more hook... So I started with VG targeting the same spot as I did to end team.. Ball was just to strong and went back in the bag half way through game 1 of doubles... pulled out my crossroad and played same line and started to put some strikes on the board... after struggling the first 4 frames game 1... I put up games of 198 and 213 again missing a few spares... the lanes for me started to transition about mid way through game 1 of singles (197)... Moved back on the approach and moved left a board and put together a sting of 8 strikes for a nice 254 and followed that with a 221 game to end singles with 672... Ended singles playing around 20-22 pushing out to about 8 ...

Overall I was pleased with the way I bowled... spare shooting could of been better but I made 1803 AE...

Interesting to hear there is more hook.  While i've seen (some of the webcasts) and heard the same, another poster had said that they were playing alot "wetter" for him.  Seems to me your opinion is more spot on from the youtube videos i've watched.