December in Sunset Beach, NC: 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 | 60°F |
| Avg daily low | 43°F |
| Rainy days | 11 / mo |
| Avg peak wind | 12 mph |
December sits in a narrow corridor between Sunset Beach's milder autumn and its coldest, wettest stretch in January. The average high reaches 60°F — tied with February for the second-coldest of the year — while lows dip to 43°F, creating a 17-degree daily swing that makes layering non-negotiable. Wind peaks at 12 mph, which ranks as the 5th-calmest month of the year, so conditions underfoot are generally manageable if you dress for them. Precipitation lands on 11 days, making December the 3rd-driest month of the year.
For golfers who don't mind cooler air, that combination of relatively calm wind and modest rain frequency keeps December playable. Tee times in the early afternoon give the temperature a chance to climb toward that 60°F ceiling before you're too deep into your round, and the area's courses tend to run shorter queues than you'd find during the Myrtle Beach Grand Strand's busy spring influx just up the coast.
Book midday slots — roughly 11 AM to 1 PM — to catch the day's warmest window near that 60°F high before the 17-degree evening drop sets in. December's lighter crowds compared to spring mean last-minute tee times are often available, but coastal weekends around the holidays fill faster than weekdays. See how conditions rate hour by hour on our playability scale.
Coming out of November, you lose 6°F off the average high and pick up one additional rain day, while wind barely shifts — just 0.3 mph more. Heading into January, another 3°F drops off the high, two more rain days arrive, and winds tick up a further 1.1 mph to 13.1 mph, pushing conditions noticeably closer to the site's 'moderate' wind threshold.
Climate normals show the long-term picture, but day-to-day weather varies. Check today's live golf weather score for Sunset Beach, NC for the current playability rating, hourly wind, temperature, and the recommended tee time window.
← November in Sunset Beach, NC • January in Sunset Beach, NC →
It's workable rather than ideal. The average high of 60°F sits just at the lower edge of comfortable playing conditions, and lows of 43°F mean early morning rounds can feel genuinely cold. On the plus side, December is the 3rd-driest month of the year at 11 precipitation days, and wind peaks at just 12 mph — 5th-calmest of the year — so when conditions cooperate, rounds are uninterrupted.
December is modestly better on every metric: the average high is 3°F warmer at 60°F versus January's 57°F, there are two fewer precipitation days (11 vs. 13), and peak wind is 1.1 mph lower at 12 mph versus 13.1 mph. Neither month is prime golf season, but December holds a clear edge if you're choosing between the two.