A primary reason cited by the United States Bowling Congress in its decision to hide the lane pattern information for the 2017 Open Championships is the perception that those who have been able to practice on the patterns at home in recent years have an unfair advantage.
When the 2017 changes were announced in October 2015, USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy said in&nbsp;this news release that &ldquo;The task force unanimously agreed that having access to the lane pattern provides an...

Matt McNiel, Erik Vermilyea, John Janawicz, Adam Barta, Dan Higgins and Brent Bowers almost to a man say they historically haven’t practiced on the patterns before heading to the Open Championships. That makes sense when you realize that most have team members geographically scattered.

Eagle winners says hidden lane patterns don’t mean much change in their Open Championships preparation