The 2017 U.S. Open is underway at Flamingo Bowl in Liverpool, N.Y., just outside of Syracuse, N.Y.

Something that will always happen at a tournament is there will always be a winner, but at what cost?

If you have been watching coverage of the tournament on Xtra Frame or following by way of facebook, you may have seen a number of posts/comments in regards to the “Double Burn.” If you are not use to that term, the 2017 U.S. Open will freshly dress the lanes for the first squad of the day and than not touch the lanes again until the next day.

Lofting the gutter caps have become the norm in events like this and for the younger and college players it is easy to do. In a prestigious event like this you do have the top senior players out there as well. There will come a day where we will not see Pete Weber, Walter Ray Williams, Norm Duke or Ryan Shafer bowl in events with the double burn due to causing an injury on these conditions.

“After watching B squad tonight and seeing the progression of the lanes, I have decided to WD from the US Open. Due to my physical limitations ( lack of significant ball speed, and plantar fasciitis and carpal tunnel) I determined it was counter productive to try and compete to the best of my ability on that condition.” said Shafer, a Two-time Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award winner. “As it has been determined it is “ a required element” in today’s game to loft the gutter at the the US Open, I am no longer capable of doing that without potentially hurting myself. I would prefer to prepare for the WSOB in Reno starting November 6. It pains me to do this as I have always looked forward to this event and really wanted to win one of these in my career. But that time has passed. Thank you to all my family , friends and fans who came to watch this week. I apologize for my performance, or lack thereof.”

Being that I am a solid 205 on a true house shot and 175 on sport, so by no means am I saying that what these guys are doing is bad. In fact to be able to throw a 14-16 pound ball over the heads or further and hit the same spot down lane with accuracy is amazing.

Till next time, get out there and go Bowling!

BH