There seems to be some rather massive misinformation or misunderstanding going around about the rules changes, so here are the explainations:
1: New average rules. All they're doing is ADDING a qualification. First off, as it's always been, by USBC league average. Then your most recent 27 USBC tournament games using the sport adjustment table to UPconvert to an assumed house average. OR, a regular sanctioned sport league average UPconverted to an assumed house average using the sport adjustment table. It will be THE HIGHEST OF THESE 3. Obviously a house average would be higher than your tournament or sport league average, so the tournament and sport league averages have to be upconverted to an assumed or calculated house average. Some people's house averages are 50 pins over their tournament or sport averages and some are 10 or less. By using these 3 qualifications, they will get you much closer to an even playing field.
1A: Sandbagging. The new divisions DOES NOT make it easier for people to sandbag, specifically because of the new average rules. If you have tournament average as a qualification, no one will sandbag in the tournament, makes no sense. The reason for sandbagging is to get more handicap or get into a lower division to do WELL in the tournament, well if your tournament averages are included in the calculation, exactly how would that encourage or make it easier to sandbag?
2: The new pro rule. The new pro rule actually HELPS everyone else, as if you're under 60 and have won a title, REGARDLESS of current standing, you can be the only pro on the team. Previously there was a period where winner or not, if you hadn't held a card for something like 3 years, you essentially weren't considered a pro. This is how several of these teams end up together. Ask Jeff Richgels about this, his team has to break up, because a couple guys on his team have tour titles. Haven't been on tour in ages, they're all 40s or 50s, but because they got a title 20 years ago, can't bowl together anymore. So with the previous rules, these guys have been bowling together for years, but now they can't because the RULES ARE STRICTER NOW THAN BEFORE.
3: The new divisions, and bracket issues. I can guarantee you, the big dogs aren't happy with the new divisions. Instead of being able to make bracket money off people all the way down to a 180 average, they're now looking at going up against people much closer to their own skill level, making bracket winning scores much higher than they used to be. Before, in the upper division, if you shot 200-200-200, unless you had a bunch of ringers on your squad, you were looking at making money, and possibly pretty decent money. Now? Upper division is going to take 215-215-215, and that's still not feeling that comfortable about it. More divisions mean fewer people per division, meaning less entries, less possibility for lower scores, which effectively reduces your chances to make a crap ton of money SIGNIFICANTLY.
4: Lane conditions. Believe me, releasing the lane conditions helps no one. This is the biggest participation tournament in the country for anything. The USBC is committed to putting out a shot that is playable for the widest range of styles as possible. This means there will be no 47 foot patterns and no 34 foot patterns, not super dry or super wet. Sport conditions of medium-ish length and medium-ish volume all have similar characteristics. Getting "the pattern" ahead of time and practicing on it guarantees nothing, because the other variables weigh just as heavily, if not moreso. If anything, practicing on "the pattern" screws people up, because they go in with a "plan" and preconceptions about how that pattern is going to play, and the most common thing I've heard is, "well they just didn't quite play out there like they did when I was practicing, so it didn't go well." Really? So you mean when you try the plan and the plan didn't work, you couldn't just ditch it and read your ball reaction and adjust off that? You're telling me the rest of you can't go out a couple days earlier and watch and bowl the BJ and on the showcase lanes like the rest of the "big dogs?"
There's also no free equipment for staffers at the booths. If they bring their own stuff, drilling is charged, and if they get it from the booth, THEY ARE CHARGED for that ball. May be a reduced rate or similar to what they already get, but there is no free anything happening. You also can't tell me that you can't set up a 6-8 ball "arsenal" that won't cover whatever is out there with a surface change or two. If you can't adjust to a medium pattern with 8 balls, what you need is practice, not another ball or layout. Besides, people still take 8+ balls a year even when they know what the pattern is, and most likely only use 2 or 3 of them the whole time. If practicing on the pattern before you go is such a big deal, why do you still need 8 balls?
Yes, the good bowlers will most likely go out there several days in advance to practice and watch. Why can't you? "Well I've got a family and job and blah blah." Yes, understood. But there are people out there who have made this a living for themselves, they put in the work and effort and make the sacrifices to be where they're at, yet that's somehow unfair? I'm not sure how you expect to bowl league twice a week, never practice, have old equipment, and make them change or alter rules to somehow make you competitive. That's totally and completely unrealistic.
Bottom line, the new divisions and average qualification options will put you in a fairer division. Sandbagging will be harder. The new pro rule is much more restrictive than it was before. The whole tournament will be more competitive. Nothing about brackets is easier or more lucrative. Not releasing the pattern will help more than it hurts, too many people go in with a plan or preconceived ideas that end up actually wrecking their tournament instead of helping it. This returns the advantage to the more skilled bowler who can read ball reaction and knows how to adjust, rather than the person who gets to practice on it at Kegel for 2 months before going. There will be plenty of good bowlers who don't do well, because their skill is based on familiarity rather than actual laneplay, ball reaction reading, and adjustment skills.
Besides, plenty of information will be available after early in the tournament. If you don't want to be at a "disadvantage," don't go early in the tournament! Wait for the information to filter down. However, if you know what you're doing, going a day early, bowling the BJ, and watching several hours of tournament competition should be plenty enough information with an intelligently selected 6-8 ball arsenal and a handful of abralon pads for you to be successful. They're putting the actual skill back in the game, people. They're handing the advantage back to the people who actually know how to BOWL rather than those who can do all the best math. People complain so much now about equipment and layouts and tour reps and whatever else ruining the game, but now that they're paring back the Open, now everybody is unhappy because it's going to be more about skill, experience, and instinct? I'm confused.
