It is just a couple of minutes by car from the famous marina it shares its last name with, and only five kilometres from Marbella’s town centre. Banus Executive Golf unquestionably enjoys a privileged location, with excellent facilities that are the result of a total renovation of what was formerly the Dama de Noche course.
Today, there is hardly any resemblance between the two. The nine-hole par-three course has been completely renovated, an elegant restaurant has been built that offers top-quality cuisine at moderate prices, and there is a spacious new parking lot, academy and driving range.
Added to all that are superb football facilities, with four 11-a-side and three seven-a-side football pitches equipped with changing rooms and gymnasium and prepared for training camps by elite-competition teams. Already, Champions League teams have enjoyed the amenities, as well as first division teams from several European countries.
At the helm of Banús Executive Club is Ángel Durán, who brings to the club a long and successful professional career as director of various golf courses. "We want to offer a totally different approach to what is a traditional golf course," he explains, "a new sports concept that combines golf, football and restaurant, and provides added interest.”
In conjunction with the creation of the academy and practice course, a permanent club-fitting service has also been launched, while another planned innovation is the possibility of hosting “footgolf” competitions. "The greens are not going to be used, but the tees will be,” says Durán. “Also planned are pitch and putt tournaments, "which are becoming very trendy.”
This leisure complex still has enough space to increase its facilities, including a gym and pádel tennis courts. "We want the sports amenities to be as complete as possible," says Durán.
As for the golf course, it is completely flat and its holes range between 87 metres (for the shortest) and 167 metres (the longest). Water comes into play on holes one and nine. The latter and the sixth are totally new, and all the greens on the course, as well as the bunkers, have also been revamped. In short, it has been a comprehensive global renovation of the playing areas.
“The course," says Durán, “is very suitable for people who want to do some physical exercise, at any time of the day, after they have finished their own workday, and is also ideal for young people who are starting out in golf and for adults who don’t have enough time to play a long course. "
The golf course has maintained the powerful lighting towers that make evening use possible, so you can play golf at night on request and as long as there is a minimum number of players. "It would be ideal, for example, for a business event consisting of a dinner or cocktail reception, then playing golf," says Ángel Durán.
Playing Banús Executive Golf is within all budgets (€22 for nine holes and €33 for 18), and it is even more economical if you become an annual club member: €700 for an individual fee and €1,000 for a couple, plus a green fee of only €2 or €3 euros per round (nine or 18 holes).
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Haute Cuisine at Good Prices
With its exquisite decoration and lighting, the restaurant is another key feature of the sports complex. It has an attractively original name, Divot, appropriate in a golfing context and specialising in high-quality matured meats. "It offers snack-bar service during the day to football players and golfers, and at noon and in the evening, it especially welcomes customers looking for a place offering peace and silence, parking at the door and superb cuisine. The kitchen, run by chef Samuel Tineo, is based on charcoal-grilled meats and fish, combined with elaborately prepared dishes and presentations. The kitchen is open-style so all diners can have a view inside. Managed by Ignacio Díez, the restaurant features a hexagonal shape, which means guests can enjoy expansive views both inside and outside.
