I'm not a pro. I'm now on my fifth or sixth rod. If I remember, the bottom "fourth" of the rod, where you've already positioned the reel seat, has no line guides on it. I'd follow the advise above for that bottom "fourth" is almost impossible for a novice like myself to find a spline anyway. Flip the top three sections and go with the flow. Only you will know and the rest of us ain't telling. BTW, relax and have fun with it. Folks tend to put too much worry into it and not enough fun. JGW