December in Jacksonville, FL: shoulder season for golf — playable with smart tee time selection. Best tee times: mid-morning through early afternoon.
| Average December Weather | |
|---|---|
| Avg daily high | 68°F |
| Avg daily low | 53°F |
| Rainy days | 12 / mo |
| Avg peak wind | 10.9 mph |
December changes how you book a tee time in Jacksonville. Rounds fill up on weekends and holiday weeks — the combination of a 68°F average high, only 12 precipitation days, and a 10.9 mph peak wind (4th-calmest month of the year) draws snowbirds and visiting family looking for any excuse to get outside. The practical result is that mid-week mornings are often wide open while Saturday shotgun slots disappear days in advance.
Once you're out there, the 15°F daily swing from a 53°F low to a 68°F high means the first tee at 7 AM plays noticeably different from the 13th hole at noon. Layers matter. Afternoon rounds avoid the chill entirely and rarely run into darkness issues if you keep a reasonable pace, since course hours align well with December's daylight window.
Book weekend and holiday-week tee times at least a week out; demand from visiting golfers spikes sharply around the Christmas–New Year stretch even at courses that rarely fill up in autumn. Mid-week slots from Tuesday through Thursday typically stay available 48–72 hours ahead and come with lighter pace-of-play. See how conditions rate hour by hour on our playability scale.
December and November share the same 12 precipitation days, and the wind actually eases slightly from November's 11.2 mph to December's 10.9 mph, so the main tradeoff moving into December is simply the 4°F drop in average high. Looking ahead to January, you lose another 4°F on the high and the low falls to 48°F, though January does shed 2 precipitation days — so if cold bothers you more than rain, December is the better window.
Climate normals show the long-term picture, but day-to-day weather varies. Check today's live golf weather score for Jacksonville, FL for the current playability rating, hourly wind, temperature, and the recommended tee time window.
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December earns a shoulder-season rating largely because of the 2nd-coldest average high of the year at 68°F and a low of 53°F, not because of rain — 12 precipitation days ties it with November for the 3rd-driest month. Afternoons are comfortable and winds average 10.9 mph, which is calm enough for most players. The main consideration is layering up for morning tee times.
Course traffic is higher than the shoulder-season badge might suggest because holiday travel brings out-of-town golfers to the area through late December. Weekend rounds and tee times during the Christmas–New Year's week book up quickly compared to the rest of autumn. Mid-week mornings remain the easiest slots to secure without advance planning.