One of the fundamental rules of golf etiquette is to avoid stepping in a playing partner or competitor’s intended line of putt, but a lesser-known rule of thumb needs to be followed as well when it comes to a player’s “through-line.”
A “through-line” can be defined as a reasonable guess of what the line of a player’s comeback putt might be. Should a player miss their first putt by hitting the ball past the hole, proper etiquette would be to treat that line as if it were the same as the player’s intended line, which golfers are usually very good at avoiding.
Properly navigating the through-line will ensure that there is less time spent fixing spike or scuff marks left by players in your group, and hopefully will result in your playing partners reciprocating your etiquette.
