Travel 10/23/1999 - By George Freeman
When trying to decide what to take with you on a trip when you can't afford to take your entire arsenal, you need to streamline. So what is a must, and what is excess?
Well, for starters, I suggest taking one urethane ball. Urethane, while not "hip", still has a big place in the game. Urethane can give you consistent reaction if the lanes are giving you serious over/under. If possible, have it drilled "zero" with no weights to affect the break point or angle of attack. This is also useful to use as a benchmark ball, to get an idea of what is on the surface, and to make equipment decisions from there. I also suggest taking a plastic ball. If the lanes are fried, you'll need something that can skid up the lane surface.
As far as the high powered equipment, bring something in leverage, something that will retain energy in the front part of the lane and snap in the backend, and an axis weighted ball, something that will provide a slightly more even roll. Have both shined, if you need to add surface to the ball you could always do so with a scotch-brite pad before bowling.