December in Orlando, FL: peak season for golf — great conditions and a wide playing window. Best tee times: mid-morning through early afternoon.
| Average December Weather | |
|---|---|
| Avg daily high | 71°F |
| Avg daily low | 55°F |
| Rainy days | 10 / mo |
| Avg peak wind | 10.3 mph |
December is statistically Orlando's driest month — just 10 precipitation days — and yet most visiting golfers arrive braced for afternoon thunderstorms that simply don't materialize with the same frequency as the rest of the year. That's the core expectation gap. What catches people equally off guard is the 16-degree daily temperature swing: the 55F morning low feels legitimately cool, while afternoons settle at 71F, well inside the comfortable range. Light-packers who assumed "Florida in December" means shorts-and-polo from the first tee end up fishing a jacket out of the bag.
With the 71F afternoon high landing squarely in the 60-80F ideal band and rain frequency at its annual low, conditions are about as dialed-in as Orlando gets. That combination is what earns December its Peak Season badge. The catch is that holiday weeks — particularly Christmas through New Year's — push resort-style and destination courses to full capacity days in advance, leaving walk-on or same-day options scarce.
December's combination of the year's lowest rain frequency and holiday travel volume creates real competition for preferred morning slots at the more popular public-access courses, so booking ahead is more important than in shoulder months. Afternoon tee times after 1 PM can sometimes open up mid-week when holiday crowds thin slightly. See how conditions rate hour by hour on our playability scale.
November into December is a meaningful improvement for golfers — you drop 4 precipitation days and shed 1.3 mph of peak wind while giving up 5 degrees of afternoon warmth. Compared to January, December holds a slight edge: one fewer rainy day and winds that run 1.6 mph calmer, though the temperature difference is minimal at just 1 degree higher.
Climate normals show the long-term picture, but day-to-day weather varies. Check today's live golf weather score for Orlando, FL for the current playability rating, hourly wind, temperature, and the recommended tee time window.
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The afternoon high reaches 71F, which sits right in the comfortable range, but morning lows average 55F — cool enough that muscles take longer to warm up. Bringing a light jacket for the first few holes is practical, not precautionary.
Counterintuitively, December is the driest month of the year in Orlando, averaging just 10 precipitation days. That's four fewer than November and one fewer than January, so the odds of a rain delay are lower in December than in any other month.