December in Columbia, SC: shoulder season for golf — playable with smart tee time selection. Best tee times: late morning to early afternoon after dew burns off.
| Average December Weather | |
|---|---|
| Avg daily high | 59°F |
| Avg daily low | 40°F |
| Rainy days | 11 / mo |
| Avg peak wind | 10.4 mph |
For the traveling golfer escaping a cold winter back home, Columbia in December offers something concrete: a 59°F average high that sits just 1°F below the ideal range floor, which beats most of the country by a wide margin. Rounds are genuinely enjoyable when the midday sun climbs, and the fact that December is tied for the third-driest month at 11 precipitation days means the odds of a washout are lower than you might expect for winter.
The local regular sees it differently. Mornings starting near 40°F demand a later tee time, and the 19-degree daily swing means conditions change meaningfully between your first and last hole. Precipitation is tied for the third-driest month at 11 days, so dry windows are available — you just have to pick them deliberately. Wind sits at 10.4 mph on average, noticeable but not a deal-breaker on most days.
Book late-morning slots — 10 AM or later — to let the 40°F low climb closer to the day's 59°F ceiling before you tee off. Given the dry-window opportunity with only 11 precipitation days, midweek bookings 5-7 days out give you enough forecast clarity to target the cleaner stretches. See how conditions rate hour by hour on our playability scale.
December drops 7°F from November's 66°F average high, making it noticeably colder even though precipitation holds steady at 11 days and wind barely budges — up just 0.5 mph. Looking ahead, January adds 3 more rainy days and another 1.1 mph of wind on top of a 2°F further temperature dip, making December the more attractive of the two winter months. If you're choosing between late fall and early winter, November remains the easier play, but December edges January without much debate.
Climate normals show the long-term picture, but day-to-day weather varies. Check today's live golf weather score for Columbia, SC for the current playability rating, hourly wind, temperature, and the recommended tee time window.
← November in Columbia, SC • January in Columbia, SC →
It depends on your expectations. The average high of 59°F is just 1°F below the ideal 60–80°F range floor, so well-timed midday rounds are genuinely comfortable, but mornings start near 40°F and cold-weather preparation still matters. On the positive side, December is tied for the third-driest month of the year at 11 precipitation days, meaning playable windows are fairly common for a winter month.
December averages a peak wind of 10.4 mph, which falls in the moderate range and ranks as the sixth-windiest month of the year. It's enough to influence club selection on exposed holes but not typically a round-canceling factor. Wind does increase by 1.1 mph heading into January, so December is the calmer of the two.