Team NDBowling.com competed in the 2015 USBC Open Championships last week in El Paso, TX. With conditions being as tough as many have ever seen at the OC, teamwork was a must. The team took part in the Showcase Lanes once again. The hour long practice session gave our team a good look at the OC conditions. We developed a game plan that, in the practice session, seemed to give us a good chance at putting up a respectable score. When it came time to bowl team event, our team went in with the same game plan despite talk of the championship lanes hooking quite a bit more than the showcase lanes.
The team event began very sluggish. Several opens plagued the team early on. As bowlers reached the middle of game one, the thought of a sub 150 game was staring several bowlers in the face. As a result, some moved to a more comfortable part of the lane in hopes to avoid the dreaded tournament killing game. As the lanes broke down, an over under reaction was created. As many bowlers know, this reaction can be frustrating. A few bowlers posted respectable scores, while most posted scores less desirable.
Team NDBowling.com finished with a 2735 and our companion team, Sunset Lanes Pro Shop, finished with 2822.
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This season, I (Daren Seney) will also blog about my experiences in El Paso, TX, and places along the way.
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This season taught me alot about the USBC Open Championships in terms of the trip and bowling. Lets first start with the bowling.
Many bowlers know that competing at the OC requires teamwork on all levels. From breaking down the lanes correctly in each event, to understanding the tendencies of your fellow teammates. I learned this season exactly how tough it is to keep all 10 guys on the same game plan when money is on the line. Our teams missed a lot of single pins and made a few more errant shots than we would have liked. It becomes difficult to play a part of the lane you are not comfortable in when you are having a hard time filling frames to begin with. In my case, it was purely mechanics. The team could have walled up the lanes and I would have still struggled. I just feel if the team had started out game 1 a little better in regards to filling frames, we would have been more likely to stick to the original game plan.
I learned the importance of lane breakdown in the Bowlers Journal as well. Upon reaching El Paso, TX, I learned from a few of my friends that some of the squads filled up relatively fast. So, I decided to sign up for two squads as soon as I got to the convention center. I signed up for one burn squad and one fresh oil squad. My first squad was on the burn. I watched the fresh oil squad before me to get a good idea as to what they were all doing. The squad was completely reserved by a big group which included Ronnie Horton. They all started the block playing the outside part of the lane using sanded equipment. Even though their scores weren’t that great, they stuck with the game plan.
As it turns out, the same group reserved the following burn squad as well, but one person didn’t want to bowl two which left the opening in the squad that I got. So I feel like I fell into the perfect opportunity at the Bowlers Journal. This group broke down the lanes very well. From the start of game 1, I had a great ball reaction. Carry was elusive for the first two games and my inability to double really brought down my scores. After posting 402 the first two games, I decided to make a ball change to see if I could improve my carry percentage. That proved to be the trick that lead to a 289 game and a 691 block (terrible 11th shot resulted in 6 pin).
So lets fast forward to the next day and the fresh oil squad. The squad contained a mix bag of styles and equipment. I even noticed one bowler playing 4th arrow on the fresh. As you would expect, the lanes played much tighter on the fresh, but they did not transition into anything close to what I experienced the day before following Horton’s group. This proved to me how difficult it really is to carve out a lane condition. Teamwork is a must when it comes to success at the OC and I am thankful to have followed and bowled with that group. Also a shout out to Ron Davis. I bowled both of my Bowlers Journal squads with him. Hes a great guy and the only person I have ever seen be able to make the ball flare around 3/4 of the ball playing up 5. Pretty awesome.
Now lets take a look at the trip.
Many bowlers talk about Reno fatigue and wanting to travel to different places each year to make a vacation out of it. If you want to make a vacation out of the Open Championships, ROAD TRIP. In our 5 years traveling to the OC, we have gone to Reno 3 times and I still enjoy traveling to that part of the country. While I understand that some people don’t have time to road trip, I think many are missing out on quite a few things by not doing so.
The trip to El Paso was the 5th road trip for Ken Fletcher and myself. It has become a tradition for us each spring to bowl, golf, and enjoy great sights, sounds, and food along the way. This season was no different. We started the trip by heading to Denver, CO. We golfed at Fossil Trace GC, toured the Coors Brewery, and took in a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater. The following day, we made our way to El Paso, TX where we met up with our team. Following our bowling adventures in El Paso, we traveled to the Dallas/Fort Worth metro. Here, we golfed at Tour 18 in the Northern part of the metro and enjoyed some authentic Texas BBQ at Angelo’s in Fort Worth. The following day, we traveled to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth for the Crowne Plaza Invitational golf tournament. For those of you who have never been to a PGA Tour Event, I recommend doing so. Great experience despite a few rain showers that left us soaked and the course rather muddy.
The idea of road tripping to the OC began as a way to save money as I was still in college. Flying out of North Dakota is rather expensive unless you are going to Las Vegas. After a couple years of road tripping, I made a career move that meant moving out of Fargo and back to my hometown of Minot, ND. This move meant leaving good friends and teammates. This trip now allows me to catch up with those friends and teammates each season. If you get a chance, road trip to the OC. Take time to explore places along the way. With great friends, you wont get sick of the host city or the time on the road. Our road trip to Reno in 2016 is already in the works. I look forward to sharing the experience with you next season.