Puetz named General Manager at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club

By Alex Webbe

Polo veteran Bob Puetz, of Mountain Center, California, has been named as the
General Manager of the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club according to Dan
Walker, President of the club’s Board of Directors.

Puetz will be replacing Ariana Nobel, who has operated as the club’s General Manager
for the previous three years. Ms. Nobel is stepping down to have her first child but will
be returning in the position of club Marketing Director in June.

Puetz, a native of Chicago and a regular on the polo scene in the Midwest, began his
professional polo career in the 1980’s at the Oakbrook Polo Club in Oakbrook, Illinois.
Over the course of his playing career he achieved a 5-goal field handicap and a 7-
goal arena rating. In the course of his career he has played polo across the country,
in England, Jamaica, Mexico and Canada. Over the years he has played on winning
teams from the United States Arena championship to the prestigious Butler Handicap,
competing at every level of the game.

He might be best remembered as the Polo Manager and General Manager of the
Empire Polo Club in Indio, California from 1989 to 2002, during the heydays of polo
in the desert. Initially assigned the responsibilities of managing the polo operations,
including marketing and recruiting of members, scheduling, stabling, billings, collections,
etc. he soon found himself assisting in the planning and development of the Empire
Polo and Events facility, overseeing the design and development of five separate events
areas including indoor and outdoor facilities, night lit polo fields, expansive gardens, bar
and restaurant and an executive golf course all located on the 200 acre property.

For the last ten years Puetz was the vice president of Brand Management for Wave
House Holdings in San Diego, California, a restaurant and event facility that features
food, spirits, music and simulated surfing machines in a Southern California beach
setting.

His return to the polo community will be well received as many of his former teammates
and opponents continue to compete. His familiarity with not only polo operations but
club management, budgets, hiring, training and supervision of various departments will
serve him well as he takes the helm of one of polo’s most respected venues.