2015 US Open Tournament

[vdubtx]

US Open tournament is back!!

This year will be held in essentially my back yard.

https://www.11thframe.com/news/article/7269


Bowlmor AMF, the United States Bowling Congress and Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America on Monday announced the sites for the 2015 U.S. Opens — one a newly remodeled center and one a familiar major tournament venue.

The 2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open will take place at AMF Garland Lanes in the Dallas/Fort Worth suburb of Garland from Nov. 2-8, with the television finals scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8.

The 2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Women’s Open will take place at Brunswick Zone Carolier in North Brunswick, New Jersey, Aug. 31-Sept. 6 and will be a part of the new PWBA Tour schedule. The television finals are scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 6.

[Aslan]

I'm assuming this is different than the USBC Open??

[vdubtx]

I'm assuming this is different than the USBC Open??

Yes, different. The US Open is a PBA tournament and is one of the majors.

Might consider giving it a go just for the experience of it.

[Hampe]

Go for it dude! You never know how it might go, or who you end up playing on the lane with :)

[Aslan]

Yes, different. The US Open is a PBA tournament and is one of the majors.

Might consider giving it a go just for the experience of it.
So without looking it up…is the unique thing about it that it's "Open" to all bowlers even non-PBA card holders?

I wonder if they have a limit on entries. I know the WSOB only took a certain number of entries.

[vdubtx]

So without looking it up…is the unique thing about it that it's "Open" to all bowlers even non-PBA card holders?

I wonder if they have a limit on entries. I know the WSOB only took a certain number of entries.

Yes, I believe it is open to amateurs without PBA card as far as I know. More info to come out about it I am sure. Registration starts April 6. Have already dropped the bug in the wife's ear about it. Will certainly be a great experience and likely once in maybe a lifetime depending on where they are held each year.

[foreverincamo]

They must have a cutoff for entries, but the last US Open had over 600 participants. I read the difference in average between amateurs and pros was around 25 pins/game . Someday I'll give it a try . I used to drive by the place in NJ all the time when I was an over-the-road trucker. Always wanted to lay over and go watch the tournament but never did.
I have seen a few pro tournaments and bowled in some pro-and, but I want to get to that next level before I'm too old .

[vdubtx]

Hadn't looked before, but just found out that entries are still being accepted to the US OPEN!!

I think I am going to do it!

$400 entry fee and I will have to find someplace to get my name embroidered on the back of some shirts.

Figuring this will be a once in a lifetime chance to bowl it since it is so close to home. Literally within 15 miles.

[JasonNJ]

Hadn't looked before, but just found out that entries are still being accepted to the US OPEN!!

I think I am going to do it!

$400 entry fee and I will have to find someplace to get my name embroidered on the back of some shirts.

Figuring this will be a once in a lifetime chance to bowl it since it is so close to home. Literally within 15 miles.

Awesome, good luck with that. If it ever comes back to NJ, I may try it too. Hopefully I'll be a better bowler by then.

[fortheloveofbowling]

Hadn't looked before, but just found out that entries are still being accepted to the US OPEN!!

I think I am going to do it!

$400 entry fee and I will have to find someplace to get my name embroidered on the back of some shirts.

Figuring this will be a once in a lifetime chance to bowl it since it is so close to home. Literally within 15 miles.

Good luck to you.

[vdubtx]

Awesome, good luck with that. If it ever comes back to NJ, I may try it too. Hopefully I'll be a better bowler by then.


Good luck to you.
Thank you both.

Stopping by center today to check on my squad time. Think all of qualifying is on Xtra Frame. Hopefully I am on atleast once on the live stream pairs.

[Jaescrub]

Hey Vdub What equipment did you bring to use? And good luck brother!

[vdubtx]

Hey Vdub What equipment did you bring to use? And good luck brother!

Thanks bud.

Bringing all of it!! LOL

[TVan]

Bowl well, VDub. Give em hell!!

[mc_runner]

Sweet, good luck!

[Jaescrub]

Thanks bud.

Bringing all of it!! LOL
Ha ha ha well ok then. I guess you will be ready for just about anything then.

[vdubtx]

Just got back from the host center and I am bowling on A squad. Have a 1 1/2 hours practice tomorrow at 1130am.

First round of qualifying is on Tuesday at 8am.
Second round is Wednesday at 630pm.
Third round is Thursday at 130pm.

Saw a lot of the big name pro bowlers at the center. Walter Ray, Stu Williams, Osku, Andres Gomez, Mika, Connor Pickford, Anthony Pepe.... Little star struck seeing so many, and to think I am actually going to be competing against them.

[classygranny]

Relax, breathe, and ENJOY! You'll do great!

[fortheloveofbowling]

Just got back from the host center and I am bowling on A squad. Have a 1 1/2 hours practice tomorrow at 1130am.

First round of qualifying is on Tuesday at 8am.
Second round is Wednesday at 630pm.
Third round is Thursday at 130pm.

Saw a lot of the big name pro bowlers at the center. Walter Ray, Stu Williams, Osku, Andres Gomez, Mika, Connor Pickford, Anthony Pepe.... Little star struck seeing so many, and to think I am actually going to be competing against them.

Based on your videos i actually think your game should fit the traditional us open shot pretty well.

[Tony]

Sounds like quite an experience ! Have fun and enjoy yourself !

[Amyers]

Congrats Man best wishes and enjoy it

[vdubtx]

Well practice this morning on the newly released oil pattern was interesting. It's certainly a tough shot. I went at it straighter as I just don't put enough revs on the ball like some of the pro's were doing.

Had a good shot I think and will just see how it goes. No expectations, just get out there make good shots and make my spares and hopefully not end up in last place. :cool:

Here is the oil pattern if interested. LINK (http://scores.bowl.com/2015-US-Open/LanePattern.pdf)

Bowl at 8am tomorrow beginning on lanes 17-18.

[Jaescrub]

Well practice this morning on the newly released oil pattern was interesting. It's certainly a tough shot. I went at it straighter as I just don't put enough revs on the ball like some of the pro's were doing.

Had a good shot I think and will just see how it goes. No expectations, just get out there make good shots and make my spares and hopefully not end up in last place. :cool:

Here is the oil pattern if interested.

Bowl at 8am tomorrow beginning on lanes 17-18.

I looked at the lay down on line after you said your bowl times. It looks like a straight shot is going to be better. Don't rush to move inside if your on a fresh set.

[vdubtx]

Day 1 in the books for me. Shot.......OK. Made some bad shots and got too darned fast a few times too many. Left a lot of pins out there on some messy spares.

For the first 8 games, I am -143.

Seems the way the squads are going, the 2nd squad(burn) of the day is the best scoring squad so far. Double burn is still going now. We will be bowling on the double burn tomorrow evening at 630pm central.

Should be on the Xtra Frame live stream for at least 1 game tomorrow night according to the lane assignments.

[Tony]

Day 1 in the books for me. Shot.......OK. Made some bad shots and got too darned fast a few times too many. Left a lot of pins out there on some messy spares.

For the first 8 games, I am -143.

Seems the way the squads are going, the 2nd squad(burn) of the day is the best scoring squad so far. Double burn is still going now. We will be bowling on the double burn tomorrow evening at 630pm central.

Should be on the Xtra Frame live stream for at least 1 game tomorrow night according to the lane assignments.

"Shooting ...OK", seems pretty good considering the conditions and level of competition, good luck with the next session !

[vdubtx]

"Shooting ...OK", seems pretty good considering the conditions and level of competition, good luck with the next session !

Thank you Tony.

I do have to keep it in perspective. The fresh squad yesterday was the lower scoring squad. Interested to see today how the Fresh squad does.

[vdubtx]

Day 2 in the books. For the 8 game block I was -160. Add to Day 1 I am -303 currently.

The double burn was brutal to say the least. Was hard to keep the ball on the 1-3 pocket side of the lane. They had been torched from the last 2 squads. I was on the Xtra Frame live streams for 2 games so that will be fun to re-live those games when I can get a chance to watch the replay of them. Wife was texting me while I was bowling offering support. :cool:

Third round of qualifying today at 115pm. We will be on single burn today. Hoping for a bit better scoring today.

[Aslan]

oooo...I'll have to see if my internet will let me watch the livestream without it looking and sounding like Max Headroom.

Hopefully VDub is wearing a "VDub" jersey because I forgot his name and don't know what he looks like.

[RobLV1]

Gotta say that the Seniors are looking pretty impressive after bowling the fresh on Thursday: Duke, Ameletto, Pete, and WRW all in the top five, keeping the lone lefty leader company!

[vdubtx]

My experience at the US Open is over. Today did not go so well. Shot -230 today.

Plus side, I was on Xtra Frame and shot my single 200 game of the day while on the stream. :cool:

This was an awesome experience that should be on every bowlers bucket list. Learned a ton while bowling. I will expand on what I did learn later. Tired and sore and need some down time. :)

[RobLV1]

You should be proud of yourself. Averaging near 180 on the U.S. Open pattern is quite an accomplishment. Learn from your experience, and I have a hunch that you'll do much better next year.

[Amyers]

Hey Congrats on getting out there and doing it. Which is more than most of us here will ever do. There is nothing to be disappointed about with a 180 average on your first try and bowling on difficult conditions. Share your experiences with us once you recover some. Can't wait to hear all about it. An Aslan length post would be great.

[Mark O]

Awesome bowling and awesome experience Vdub! Glad you got to cross this off your bucket list, hopefully you'll get another opportunity to do it again in the future. Can't wait to see the more in depth post about what you learned, thanks for sharing!

[Aslan]

Can't wait to hear all about it. An Aslan length post would be great.

Yeah. As IF just ANYONE can put an Aslan-length post together. You do realize he's from Texas and the average Texan has the vocabulary of a 6th grader in the State of Vermont correct??

Actually, that 'may' not be true...because I made it up...but I can't guarantee it's 'not' true either....nor do I want to procrastinate badly enough to google such things and see if my hypothesis is remotely true.

Besides, I'm waiting until next year's summary when VDubtx travels to Reno to bowl the Open in the National Bowling Stadium....which is near the top of my bucket list in terms of places I want to visit...and VDub shares what its like to bowl there (versus the hot and dirty city of El Paso, TX).

[Amyers]

Yeah. As IF just ANYONE can put an Aslan-length post together. You do realize he's from Texas and the average Texan has the vocabulary of a 6th grader in the State of Vermont correct??

Actually, that 'may' not be true...because I made it up...but I can't guarantee it's 'not' true either....nor do I want to procrastinate badly enough to google such things and see if my hypothesis is remotely true.

Besides, I'm waiting until next year's summary when VDubtx travels to Reno to bowl the Open in the National Bowling Stadium....which is near the top of my bucket list in terms of places I want to visit...and VDub shares what its like to bowl there (versus the hot and dirty city of El Paso, TX).

I'm pretty sure that after telling him he has the vocabulary of a 6th grader I wouldn't want to be you when you meet at some future event. It's been a while since I've seen one of those pictures of just someone's feet sticking out of the ball return.

[vdubtx]

Yeah. As IF just ANYONE can put an Aslan-length post together. You do realize he's from Texas and the average Texan has the vocabulary of a 6th grader in the State of Vermont correct??

Actually, that 'may' not be true...because I made it up...but I can't guarantee it's 'not' true either....nor do I want to procrastinate badly enough to google such things and see if my hypothesis is remotely true.

Besides, I'm waiting until next year's summary when VDubtx travels to Reno to bowl the Open in the National Bowling Stadium....which is near the top of my bucket list in terms of places I want to visit...and VDub shares what its like to bowl there (versus the hot and dirty city of El Paso, TX).

Not actually being from Texas, your comment about vocabulary level is invalid.

As for bowling in El Paso vs. Reno. Have already bowled in Reno the prior 2 years for Nationals. Not much difference bowling in one vs. the other to be honest.

El Paso was actually a nicer city than Reno is. Not "dirty" by any means. Maybe you're thinking of across the bridge/river in Juarez.

[Tony]

Hey Congrats on getting out there and doing it. Which is more than most of us here will ever do. There is nothing to be disappointed about with a 180 average on your first try and bowling on difficult conditions. Share your experiences with us once you recover some. Can't wait to hear all about it. An Aslan length post would be great.

A rambling post, with that level of unnecessary complication is best left to people belonging to over-analyzers anonymous! lol

[Aslan]

El Paso was actually a nicer city than Reno is. Not "dirty" by any means. Maybe you're thinking of across the bridge/river in Juarez.

I tend to harshly judge cities based on their proximity to Juarez. Further away from Juarez = good. Closer...not good.

[vdubtx]

So having had a little time to recover from the US Open, thought I would post up what I learned. Some very little things, some things about my game and some things I have no control over.

1. With the US Open being my first "professional" level tournament, I learned what the double jump rule was. Was actually a lot easier to learn once we got going and it really does move the game along pretty quickly as long as people go when they are supposed to.

2. I learned that I prefer fresh oil to the burn squads. This was very evident in my scores as day 2 and 3 fell off a bit to fresh. Day 2 was the double burn and I just did not have the right equipment set up to combat the serious hooking we encountered on that squad. I tried my Storm Ride, and on a house shot that becomes dry it works great, but, is vastly different from the US Open pattern when it is toasty from 48-64 games on it from prior squads. The oil had moved or been removed from the center part of the lane and the heads were gone that we just had no where to go with our shots. I learned that I was just not comfortable going from extreme left with my shots. I can play 4th arrow but to play 5-6 arrow, was out of my comfort zone. This I will have to work on in the future. On the Xtra Frame live stream one night, Chris Barnes was on and mentioned that the A squad during our double burn was the most brutal conditions he had seen at this Open. First nights double burn the pattern held up somewhat, but for ours they players had gone inside so deep, so soon, that nothing was left.

3. I learned that I simply cannot compete with the pros and their ball company reps suggesting what they do each and every shot and which ball to use. They have any ball at their disposal and got them drilled up on site immediately after practice on Monday specifically for the pattern and what they were seeing their current equipment do. Also, with the amount of revs they put on the ball, it looked sometimes like they were playing on a house shot compared to my balls barely making moves.

4. I learned that on a Sport Shot, each and every spare should be shot using a spare ball and going straight at it. Kicked myself from staying in my "league" mentality with the first few left side spare attempts. I need to continue working on this as it is a definite gap in my game.

5. I learned that I need to not watch the scores and just bowl my frame. Take it one frame at a time. Several games I finished 9th and 10th frames poorly from over thinking what my scores would be.

6. I learned that my ball speed needs to be regulated depending on the pattern. I was a little too fast on the fresh and a little too slow on the burns.

7. I learned I just don't have the stamina to bowl 8 games a day consistently. By the 5th game of 3rd qualifying squad, my left thigh and knee were sore, I think this was also partly due to not sliding as well as I like.

8. I need to work on my mental game and not check out at the end. I think I did this on our 3rd qualifying round at the end and my scores certainly show that. The last squad I was averaging 185 through 4 games, last 4 games of the day I averaged 158.

9. I learned that I can play on the outside when I need to. On the fresh pattern, I started playing at 5 board and keeping the ball relatively straight and walking it into the pocket. This worked for a little bit and I kept making small moves inside to keep that line working. Then bumped up against where others had already been playing and that line went away.

10. I learned that you shouldn't register for a tournament without giving yourself more of a lead time to prepare for it. I had to scramble to get myself and my equipment ready for what I was about to do for the week. I had just switched my equipment over to Vise IT and didn't have a good feel for the thumb yet. Had to work out the thumb holes immediately after practice as my thumb was developing a blister.

Felt I was in a good position through 2 days at -303. Then just did not make the right adjustments or in hindsight have the right ball in my hands on the last day.

Overall, my experience was a great one. I had an awesome time watching and competing against some extremely good bowlers. Bowling in such a big tournament was and should be a bucket list item for any bowler(think I already said that in another post, I forget).

Well, nothing groundbreaking, but I did expose a couple gaps in my game that I can work on until the next time that I bowl in a bigger tournament.

Here are my game by game break downs. A lot to interpret from these I think. My straight spare shooting isn't all that polished off yet. That's another item to keep working on.

Day 1 - A Squad - Fresh

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e381/Vdubtx/Bowling/18ABBB0E-8BAA-4586-ADED-3581A9DAA7D2_zpssccmxw8a.jpg (http://s43.photobucket.com/user/Vdubtx/media/Bowling/18ABBB0E-8BAA-4586-ADED-3581A9DAA7D2_zpssccmxw8a.jpg.html)

Day 2 - A Squad - Double Burn

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e381/Vdubtx/Bowling/DDFB1060-59BD-420A-85F5-0D35CE921578_zpsas910qpa.jpg (http://s43.photobucket.com/user/Vdubtx/media/Bowling/DDFB1060-59BD-420A-85F5-0D35CE921578_zpsas910qpa.jpg.html)

Day 3 - A Squad - Single Burn

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e381/Vdubtx/Bowling/6BAE3EEC-2459-4561-A7B8-C630A6B1689B_zpsdegfmoqg.jpg (http://s43.photobucket.com/user/Vdubtx/media/Bowling/6BAE3EEC-2459-4561-A7B8-C630A6B1689B_zpsdegfmoqg.jpg.html)

Overall stats:
First ball 8.57
Strike 36% Never got past a turkey.
Spares 65% 103/157
Single Pin 90% 54/60
Multi pin 50% 49/97
Splits 28% 7/25

All leaves 157, 25 splits.
10 pin 83%
6 pin 90%
4 pin 100%
6-10 88%
3 pin 100%
2 pin 100%

Was able to convert a few splits
3-6-7-10, 3-4-6-7-10 and a 3-4-6.

[Tony]

Thanks for the summary of your experience, it provides some good insight to anyone attempting to play in a tournament.
I can't imagine how tough the shots are on the double burn, we never experience anything like that playing league (around here).
I can't see getting used to playing out way farther than I play for a 10 pin and trying to bend it back into the pocket !