After a brief scare last night when the airport sent my golf clubs on to Chicago without me (deep breath), I'm ready to talk about golf again this week.

Hopefully, if you have recently spent time on a golf course, you kept in mind my tip from last week. This time around, I have decided to tackle aspects of golf etiquette that relate to the green. You should already know that the person who is farthest from the hole goes first, you should pull the flag if you're already on the green, etc. There are many more unwritten and written rules for this sacred patch of extremely short grass, but here are a few to get you started.

Repair your divot marks.

Sure, most courses post it repeatedly on all 18 holes, including on most flags, but that doesn't seem to stop many greens from looking like Swiss cheese. The thought is that if you're good enough to loft that little white ball directly onto the green anyway, you know enough about golf to chip out your handy little divot tool. Clearly, this thought is flawed. Take a few moments to stick the tool's prongs straight down on one side of the divot, then gently push inwards. Repeat on all sides until the spot disappears, then gently pat down with your putter or foot. If you don't want to take the time to do so, then it's your own dang fault  when your ball magically changes direction as you're about to sink a 40-foot putt.

When someone else is putting, do not walk onto or off of the green/move at all.

Even if you just realized that you (duh!) forgot to bring your putter with you from where you chipped on, or whatever your reason might be, stay where you are. It's rude and distracting to whisper, walk away or otherwise interfere with your compadres' concentration.

Do NOT step anywhere near your opponent's putting lines. (i.e. Anywhere near the path that their ball might take towards the hole.)

Also, don't step within one foot of the hole.

This should be self explanatory as well, so just be aware of where you're stepping if you're walking towards the hole to either mark your ball or retrieve it from the hole. Your arms should be able to reach in the hole and grab your ball without literally stepping up to the hole, so don't trample the grass there unnecessarily. Speaking of marking the ball:

If you think that your ball might be in the way of another player's putting line, put a ball marker down on the spot.

Don't try to cheat by subtly moving your ball marker to a slightly-improved lie. Your fellow golfers will notice, and besides, golf is a game of honor!