Carry is the distance the ball travels through the air. An important thing to know about carry is that the value is given for a landing area that is the same height as where the ball is hit from.
Then the golfer can adjust for uphill and downhill shots on the course. This reason is why carry is sometimes referred to as “carry flat”. Using the club speed definition, we would expect the average male amateur to hit their driver as far as the average LPGA Tour player.
However, the actual difference is more than 20 yards. Ball speed, launch angle, and spin rate must be optimized to reach a golfer’s potential distance.
LPGA Tour players are some of the best in the world at optimizing these numbers and getting the most out of their club speed.
The benefit of knowing your carry distances with each club is that this is more of a constant throughout the year, whereas soft/firm ground conditions can have a significant effect on the total distance a club hits the ball.