By Sam Richards

Staff writer

Thursday, June 26 (8:00 a.m.): The Rossmoor golf course rules say walkers, cyclists and others are not allowed on the two golf courses while golfers are playing, “for their own protection.”

But RWC officials and Golf Advisory Committee members said at the committee’s June 13 meeting that they’ve seen a worrying number of walkers on the course recently while golfers are swinging away.

And it isn’t only humans disrupting play and creating safety issues. RWC Board member Ted Bentley said he’s seen more dogs on the course and off the leash recently. While playing recently, another committee member said he saw a woman repeatedly throw a ball to her dog from the cart path across fairways.

“That’s not supposed to happen anywhere in Rossmoor, other than the Dog Park,” Bentley said.

RWC Director of Golf Mark Heptig said he wants to remind golf course walkers of the dos and don’ts, lest someone get hurt. It will be up to the Rossmoor course marshals, he added, to enforce the rules regarding pedestrians (and all other rules, for that matter). The eight marshals are supervised by Golf Shop staff.

According to Rossmoor course rules, pedestrians and cyclists are not permitted on the golf courses during days and times the courses are open for play. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and play typically extends to around dusk each day.

The golf courses are closed to most play on Mondays, though tournaments are scheduled on many Mondays during the year. Walkers are allowed on the courses on Mondays when tournaments are not going on.

Dogs on leash may accompany pedestrians when the golf courses are not open for play as long as the owner cleans up after his/her dog.

A veteran course marshal dies

Marva Nielsen, the Rossmoor golf courses’ senior marshal, died suddenly June 1. She was 87.

Maryjean Kidd, a friend of Nielsen’s, said Nielsen was the longest-serving Rossmoor golf course marshal, putting in about 14 years doing the work of any marshal – reminding players of course rules and etiquette, reporting golfers’ rules violations, answering golfers’ questions, helping fix equipment, and keeping an eye on course conditions.

But Nielsen’s work went a step beyond.

“She hugged all the golfers – a good, solid hug – and then she’d ask them about their golf game,” Kidd said. “She was sincerely interested … and then she would remind them of the 90-degree golf cart rule,” a measure to help protect fairways and greens.

Margo Dutton, a former course marshal who worked with Nielsen for a decade, said Nielsen was protective of the course itself. That sense intensified, Dutton said, when COVID spacing required each golfer to drive their own cart, and the courses took more of a beating.

“She was a stickler after that about people doing the 90-degree turns.”

Former head marshal Dickie Nitta said of Nielsen, “She was diligent, and I think everybody liked her – she was one of my best marshals. … She was firm but popular with the players.”

A native of Utah, a longtime high school PE teacher in Oakland and an accomplished softball and basketball player, Nielsen also was an excellent golfer who recorded three holes-in-one on the Dollar course over the years.

Kidd said Nielsen was also a dedicated weightlifter and walked or hiked almost every day.

“She was committed to her health, and she was the fittest person I know,” Kidd said.

A celebration of life for Nielsen is scheduled for noon Saturday, Aug. 2 in the Fireside Room at Gateway (11 a.m. arrival). Those planning to attend should email maryjeankidd@gmail.com to RSVP. A full obituary appears elsewhere in this edition of the News.

Restroom cleanliness … an update

Since May’s golf committee meeting, where Women’s 18-Hole Golf Club representative Robin Moreau told the committee many of the golf course restrooms are generally dirty and in “terrible, shoddy condition,” the situation has improved significantly, committee members said.

“The restroom on (hole) 16 was spotless,” Heptig reported.

Committee member Pat Iacullo said, “The restrooms are looking better than they have in the past. We’re getting a good start to turning it around.”

There’s a reason for that. After the June 13 meeting, Ann Mottola, RWC’s director of community services, said a 15^th custodial team member was recently hired, working on the day crew. This, she said, allowed reassignment of crew members to allow more attention to the golf course restrooms.

Though acknowledging the decidedly cleaner conditions, committee Chairman Burke Ferrari and others said more can be done to brighten up the restrooms. They said a power wash and a new coat of paint could do wonders. And Moreau said cleaning the “absolutely filthy” skylight in at least one of them would allow for more sunlight to illuminate the interior.

“This would be chump change to clean things up,” committee member Alan Fitzgerald said.