diff --git a/src/app/golf/actions/admin-data.ts b/src/app/golf/actions/admin-data.ts
index 1d4ebbb9d..86c118af3 100644
--- a/src/app/golf/actions/admin-data.ts
+++ b/src/app/golf/actions/admin-data.ts
@@ -82,6 +82,43 @@ export interface AdminDashboardRollup {
   signup_trend_30d: { date: string; count: number }[];
 }
 
+/**
+ * Non-throwing admin access probe.
+ *
+ * Returns the caller's authority to load admin data WITHOUT 500ing on the
+ * unauth path. The page polls every 5 min while open; if the layout's SSR
+ * guard ever lets a non-admin tab through (stale role row, session
+ * downgraded mid-tab, etc.) the throw-based actions flood prod runtime
+ * logs at ~576 errors/day. The dashboard gates on this check first and
+ * stops polling cleanly when access drops — no 500.
+ */
+export async function checkAdminAccess(): Promise<{
+  allowed: boolean;
+  reason?: 'unauthenticated' | 'forbidden';
+}> {
+  const supabase = await createClient();
+  const { data: { user } } = await supabase.auth.getUser();
+  if (!user) return { allowed: false, reason: 'unauthenticated' };
+
+  const { data: userRow, error: userErr } = await supabase
+    .from('users')
+    .select('role')
+    .eq('id', user.id)
+    .single();
+  if (userErr) {
+    // A transient DB error is not an auth denial — re-throw so the caller
+    // surfaces it as a retriable error rather than a permanent session
+    // expiry. Collapsing it into `forbidden` would trip the client's
+    // /\bForbidden\b/ guard and tear the polling timer down for a real
+    // admin who just hit a Supabase hiccup.
+    throw userErr instanceof Error ? userErr : new Error(String(userErr));
+  }
+  if (userRow?.role !== 'admin') {
+    return { allowed: false, reason: 'forbidden' };
+  }
+  return { allowed: true };
+}
+
 /** Server-side entrypoint: admin check, then one RPC round-trip via the
  *  user-scoped client so the SECURITY DEFINER `auth.uid()` gate inside
  *  `get_admin_dashboard_rollup` resolves to the invoking admin (and not
diff --git a/src/app/golf/admin/page.tsx b/src/app/golf/admin/page.tsx
index f6a12af15..f05a20e2b 100644
--- a/src/app/golf/admin/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/golf/admin/page.tsx
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import Link from 'next/link';
 import { createClient } from '@/lib/supabase/client';
 import { clearActiveTeam } from '@/app/golf/actions/team-switcher';
 import {
+  checkAdminAccess,
   getAdminDashboardData,
   getAdminDashboardRollup,
 } from '@/app/golf/actions/admin-data';
@@ -266,6 +267,16 @@ function AdminDashboardContent() {
     if (!silent) setLoading(true);
     else setIsRefreshing(true);
     try {
+      // Non-throwing access probe first. The SSR layout guards a hard
+      // navigation, but a tab kept open through a role/session change can
+      // still reach this code path — and the data actions 500 on auth
+      // failure, flooding runtime logs (576+ entries/day). Stop here on
+      // any non-allowed result and let the catch block freeze polling.
+      const access = await checkAdminAccess();
+      if (!access.allowed) {
+        throw new Error(access.reason === 'unauthenticated' ? 'Unauthorized' : 'Forbidden');
+      }
+
       // Fetch main data, rollup, and CRM data in parallel.
       // The rollup is 1 RPC round-trip, cached + tag-invalidated; the full
       // legacy fetch is ~95 queries and stays until every tab is migrated.
@@ -308,8 +319,11 @@ function AdminDashboardContent() {
 
       // If the error is auth-related, stop polling and show session expired UI.
       // Flipping sessionExpired=true passes null to useVisibilityAwareInterval
-      // below, which tears the timer down.
-      if (message === 'Unauthorized' || message === 'Forbidden') {
+      // below, which tears the timer down. Match wrapped messages too — the
+      // inner rollup helpers re-throw with a `rollupA failed: Forbidden`
+      // prefix, which the prior exact-equality check missed and let polling
+      // run forever after a real-admin RLS denial.
+      if (/\b(Unauthorized|Forbidden)\b/.test(message)) {
         setSessionExpired(true);
         if (!silent) {
           setError(message);