No, you are not required to place the ball marker behind the golf ball before lifting your ball on the putting green. You can place your ball marker in front of the ball or beside it, so long as you replace the ball in the correct position later. However, we recommend always placing the marker behind the ball. This is tradition, it's the way almost all golfers do it, and you'll avoid confusion by following the same convention.
Considerations and reminders
As with all activities on the putting green, be aware of other players' putting lines and be careful not to walk across another player's line.
Marking the ball on the green is addressed in the rules in Rule 16 and Rule 20. Failure to mark the ball before lifting it results in a 1-stroke penalty. If the ball is replaced in the wrong location (e.g., you place the ball down beside your ballmarker rather than in front of it) and you putt from that wrong location, it's a 2-stroke penalty. Different scenarios are addressed in the rules cited and linked above, so give them a read. But the easiest thing to do is to always remember to mark the ball before lifting, and always put the ball back in its correct location.
Related Article:
Are there any rules about what can - or can't - be used as a ballmarker?
