THE promise of more jobs heralds the official takeover by mining giant Clive Palmer of his latest golf course at Port Douglas.

Palmer Golf is to take over management of the Palmer Sea Reef golf course and country club at south Port Douglas on February 15.

Palmer Golf managing director Angie Ison said her operators would take over from Valentine’s Day when the current management deal with the Accor hotel group expired.

Mr Palmer bought the property from the Juniper Group last month for about $7 million, his fourth golf course. Others are Palmer Colonial and Palmer Gold Coast on the Gold Coast and Palmer Coolum Resort on the Sunshine Coast.

Mrs Ison said since the acquisition, management of the course had been overseen by the nearby Sea Temple Resort.

‘‘On February 15, we take sole control of Palmer Sea Reef and there is likely to be an injection of new staff, which is  great news for the area,’’ she said.

‘‘We are looking forward to combining our expertise with that of existing staff to make Palmer Sea Reef a fantastic   facility for local, interstate and international visitors who want the very best golf experience.

‘‘There will be some new full-time and casual positions made available and we are looking forward to making Palmer Sea Reef a prominent member of the local community.

‘‘The course itself is just wonderful and its fantastic condition is a credit to the staff there. That, plus the beauty of the location, makes Palmer Sea Reef one of the premier golfing destinations in Far North Queensland.’’

Palmer Sea Reef’s 6125m, par-71 course was designed by Thomson, Wolveridge and Perret and is currently the only tropical links course in the world.

‘‘The spectacular mountain views, tropical rainforest backdrop and proximity to the beach make Palmer Sea Reef one of the most peaceful and picturesque golf venues imaginable,’’ Mrs Ison said.

Palmer Sea Reef general manager David Roche said the golf course remained open for business last week despite a soaking from ex-Cyclone Oswald.

He said almost six days of rain dumped about 500mm of water on the fairways, but the course had coped admirably with the deluge and was ‘‘very playable’’.

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