The green surface is likely the most etiquette sensitive area on the golf course. There are a few practices that the average golfer must be aware of in order to maintain the respect courtesy of fellow players.
Perhaps the most important involves when a golfer walks in relation to others golf balls and the hole. When walking onto a green surface it is imperative that every golfer takes note of the location of every golf ball on the green in order to make sure that he/she does not walk on an area of grass that a fellow golfer will be putting their next putt. Whenever possible walk around the outside of the ball and not over the line along which a ball will soon be travelling. This means whenever it is possible without wasting time avoid large stepping or jumping over the line when a ball might be travelling. The reason for this is twofold.
First one must realize that you have not actually looked at the line of the players ball and you don't really know if they will be dealing with a one, two or five foot break, therefor you could very well large step yourself directly along the players line.
Second when a golfer large steps or jumps over the another's line even if he/she has successfully avoided stepping along the other players line, the force of the foot upon the ground is at least doubled in comparison to that of the force of a regular walking step. This can cause involuntary damage to the green or at least create a much larger foot impression on the green which a player latter on in the day may have to putt over.
TheGolfExpert