January in Memphis, TN: shoulder season for golf — playable with smart tee time selection. Best tee times: late morning to early afternoon after dew burns off.
| Average January Weather | |
|---|---|
| Avg daily high | 50°F |
| Avg daily low | 34°F |
| Rainy days | 12 / mo |
| Avg peak wind | 12.1 mph |
January is the month where your tee-time decisions carry the most weight of any point in the Memphis golf calendar. With an average high of just 50°F and a low of 34°F, the 16-degree daily swing means the difference between a stiff, 34-degree dawn round and a tolerable afternoon is significant. Booking the first slot of the day is not automatically the smart play here — late-morning to midday windows are consistently more playable once temperatures climb toward their daily peak.
The upside is real. January is Memphis's 3rd-driest month at 12 precipitation days, so dry windows are available if you time them right. Wind averages 12.1 mph at its peak, which clears the moderate threshold, so course management shifts accordingly — lower ball flights and bump-and-run approaches will serve you better than high-launching iron play on breezy days.
Target tee times between 10 AM and noon — that window allows temperatures to climb away from the sub-40°F overnight lows before you tee off, while still leaving daylight to finish comfortably within the 6 PM course-hour window. On days with forecast wind near or above 12 mph, prioritize sheltered holes early and save exposed finishing holes for calmer mid-round conditions. See how conditions rate hour by hour on our playability scale.
January is actually a step drier than December, dropping one precipitation day (from 13 to 12), but it gives up 5 degrees on the average high, making it the coldest month Memphis golf sees all year. February brings warmer highs — back up to 55°F — but adds two more precipitation days and slightly more wind at 12.7 mph, so January's drier stretches remain a meaningful booking advantage over what follows.
Climate normals show the long-term picture, but day-to-day weather varies. Check today's live golf weather score for Memphis, TN for the current playability rating, hourly wind, temperature, and the recommended tee time window.
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It depends on your flexibility. January is Memphis's coldest month at a 50°F average high, but it's also the 3rd-driest month of the year with only 12 precipitation days, meaning dry gaps are genuinely available. If you can book a late-morning tee time and accept wind around 12 mph, playable rounds are realistic.
Fairways and greens are typically firm and slow, and some courses may restrict cart paths due to frost delays in the morning when lows drop to 34°F. The 16-degree daily temperature swing means conditions can change noticeably from the front nine to the back nine, so courses that were cart-path-only at dawn may open up by midday.