The late Noel Smithers and his wife Alison built the 18-hole, par 70 course in 1995 as one of the few public courses in the region where social players were not restricted by membership fixtures.

Bevans Wollongong agent Andrew Hedley, who listed the property in January, said the final figure and identity of the buyer were confidential at this stage.

The property comprises 31 hectares of golf course and an additional 20 hectares, some of which is escarpment land that cannot be developed. Two homes were included in the sale.

"The buyer wants to keep it mostly as it is ... the whole goal to acquire the course was to keep running it as it is because they feel it's a successful model," Mr Hedley said yesterday.

Mrs Smithers, whose family has run the course for the past 12 years, said she and her husband were proud of "the beautiful product" they had established.

"We bought the property to initially run cattle and then moved to breed pacing horses before we decided to build the course," she said.

It celebrated its 17th anniversary on September 1.

"It was a big risk back then because few people built golf courses but it's been a great success," Mrs Smithers said.

"Of course I'm a little sad because I've lived on the property for 32 years but I am very happy the owner plans to keep it going as a golf course," she said.

Mrs Smithers said there was never any real fears during negotiations that the buyer would pull out after the Planning Assessment Commission this year rejected stage one of a Delfin Lend Lease plan to build 4800 homes down the road at Calderwood Valley Estate.

"That decision didn't have any impact because the course has always been a profitable business ... anyway in the next few years [the estate] may still go ahead," Mrs Smithers said.