Wisconsin's Kloss takes deliberate road to career on PBA Tour

For Chad Kloss of Greenfield, Wis., bowling on the Denny's Professional Bowlers Association Tour has been a lifelong dream. But as much as he would have liked to have made the sport his career years ago, he realized early on it wasn't a decision to be made prematurely.

Kloss, 31, will begin his first year on the PBA Tour as an exempt player by competing in the United States Bowling Congress Masters Oct. 23-28 in suburban Milwaukee.

It was in front of his hometown fans that he finished eighth in the 2006 Masters, an event that was crucial to bolstering his confidence as a competitive bowler.

"I couldn't believe the support I was getting from the crowd," Kloss said. "It was a turning point for me in going from a mindset of being in awe of all these great bowlers to "'I want to beat these guys.'"

Paying his dues by bowling leagues and tournaments on demanding lane conditions was the path that Kloss took to a pro tour career.

"I like to do things in small steps to achieve goals and that's how I approached my road to the tour," Kloss said. "I wanted to bowl in everything I could and if it was on tough lane conditions all the better. It was important for me to also be exposed to lane conditions of all types."

Kloss' introduction to challenging lane conditions came in 1994 when he joined a league called "Flat Earth." The name Flat Earth was descriptive of the oil patterns used in the league.

Along the way, he also honed his skills in events such as the World Team Challenge, USBC Open Championships and eventually the Masters, which provided more challenging lane conditions. To stay sharp he has bowled in a USBC Sport-certified PBA Experience summer league the past two summers.

"I always used to throw a big hook and the normal adjustment was always to move inside to say with the shot," he said. "I soon learned that the big hook and making the same adjustment week in and week out wasn't always going to work on a flatter or tougher lane condition.

"On some of the conditions I've bowled on, including a lot of the PBA regional tournaments, you have to make your adjustments to the right side of the lane and play a straighter line. Over time, I had to learn that."

Kloss started bowling PBA regionals in 2005 and won the very first regional he competed in at Scott Air Force Base near St. Louis. That same year he was named the 2005-06 PBA Midwest Region Rookie of the Year.

After the 2006 Masters, Kloss went on to enter all but one PBA Tour qualifier over the 2006-07 season. He cashed 14 times and advanced to match play twice. With a wealth of experience behind him, he decided to take the next step and enter the PBA Tour Trials last June where he finished sixth to earn his tour exemption.

Most recently Kloss took on the what many might call the most challenging lane conditions in the sport by winning the Petersen Classic at Hoffman Lanes in suburban Chicago with a 1,657 eight-game total.

"I don't know how much I learned from that experience but I do know I had to use everything in my arsenal," Kloss said.

As for Kloss' next goal, it will be to win a PBA Tour event. He would like nothing better than to make that happen in front of the hometown fans on the championship lanes in Miller Park.

By Jerry Schneider USBC Communications