Was looking for some advice on ball selection from anyone experienced with the lane conditions of the USBC National Tournament this year in Albuquerque.
Below is a list of balls that I will be choosing from. I am only going to be taking 3 or 4 balls because of limited space.
Are any of the following balls worth leaving at home for my trip and are any of these balls "definites" to go along on the trip?:

1- Roto-Grip Cell
2- Hammer No Mercy
3- Brunswick Fury Pearl Tour Edition
4- Brunswick Absolute Inferno
5- Columbia Backyard Bully

FYI... If it helps, I am a right handed 205 average bowler who, I guess, is considered a "tweener" with an average mph of 15.5

Thanks for your advice!

I'd stick with your first 4 under the assumption you don't carry a spare ball too.
I know plenty of bowlers who bought the Cell just for Nationals. The Fury Pearl and the Absolute Inferno should be good for later shots.

More importantly is going to be staying in the pocket and adjusting your spare system for picking up every "easy" spare. It helps to go down a squad or so early and see where everyone else is playing. Especially if you can see folks that have a similar style to yours.

If its typical USBC/ABC Open conditions then there's out of bounds at around 10 or 8. So if you swing the ball a lot, you might have some trouble.....move so that you do not touch the out of bounds. Watch how these people are picking up spares, how their balls are reacting when they do so.

Erin

Welcome to the site.

I would first consider a spare ball unless you can throw those balls dead straight at your spares with no effort. If you have never been to the Nats before then you will not be able to hook the ball at your spares with much success, the lanes are oiled in a sport pattern and there is no river of oil in the middle of the lane to hold errant shots on line. I have seen 230+ average bowlers hook the ball at spares and the ball either not hook a board or snap off into the gutter.

That being said I would go with the first 4 balls, dull the No Mercy to 1000 and the Cell to 2000, the fury 4000 and shined, the absolute with rough buff, they can prep the balls for you there at the nats Pro Shop area, if you get there the day before.

You might also get info out of my other post on this subject:
http://www.bowlingcommunity.com/b/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/49927#Post49927

If your a real tweener and you can get some revs on the ball, you'll want at least one ball that you can get down the lane. Always carry balls to cover every condition. Don't think that just because it's a sport shot, you won't be able to hook the ball. Think predictable reaction. You don't want to lose the pocket. So carry one ball for max length, one for med. length, and one for little length. Carry balls you can get to the pocket with no problem on each condition.