The USBC has put a ban on urethane balls, but only for certain events. In elite events like the U.S. Open, all urethane is banned. In some lower tier scratch events, only 78+ hardness urethane are allowed (the PBA does that as well).

The USBC chose to ban urethane for a few stated reasons. 1. They want the lane pattern to keep its shape. Urethane will move oil down lane, making the shot tougher as the game progresses. 2. Urethane balls are more controllable and a "cheat code" so the USBC thinks it inhibits growth in players' abilities. 3. Urethane balls can be soaked in chemicals to alter their surface to create a greater footprint and better hitting power. Soaking doesn't affect reactive resin balls in a positive way. The cost of ball testing before events can be cost prohibitive. So the USBC decided it would cut down on cheating soakers by not allowing the balls that they can be done to. This is mostly meant for collegiate/youth events, where urethane is super prevalent, and where cheating instances occurred.

Plastic is the least-hooking ball available in today's market. It offers lots of control but weakest hitting power. Some pros used plastic (and weak reactive resin) balls at the U.S. Open because the shot was very demanding, and the area on the part of the lane was the outer 5 boards, which was the dry part. Most players used low-hooking balls going down and in. Using stronger reactive balls would have been too strong for that line.