What separates a major championship from a typical tournament on the PGA TOUR ... schedule? There are many stern tests among the courses that host weekly tour events, but the conditions that players face at a major are night and day compared to the setups they see at their regular tour stops.

Case in point - the rough. At the 2020 U.S Open at Winged Foot Golf Club, the rough will grow thick and dense and as high as six inches in length. When the rough is kept this high, it adds a new dimension to the mental demands placed on players. As Titleist staff member and TPI co-founder Dave Phillips shows in this video, properly assessing how the golf ball lies in the rough and knowing what you can and can't do from a variety of different lies in the long grass could spell the difference between a major victory and a major collapse.

You may not ever experience playing conditions as tough as the U.S Open, but it's a sure bet that you will find some long, gnarly rough from time to time. When you do stray from the fairway, follow Dave's tips for reading lies. They'll show you when you can be aggressive and when you need to take your medicine and simply get your ball back to the short grass.