If Ulysses S. Grant played golf: rated 79, best at nerve

Ulysses S. Grant as a golfer: scouting report

Ulysses S. Grant would be the quiet golfer in the group who keeps moving forward no matter what the scorecard says. Nerve is the top mark on his card. He was known for staying calm and decisive when everyone around him was anxious, a trait that carried him to command of the Union armies and later to two terms as president. On a golf course, that temperament means he never lets one bad hole turn into three.

His short game is the best of his shotmaking skills, and his putting is close behind. That touch fits a man who was the finest horseman in his class at West Point, where he set a high jump record on horseback that was remembered for years. Riding at that level takes soft hands, balance and feel, the same tools that make a great chipper. He also took drawing classes at West Point and painted watercolors, which suggests a good eye for shape and line on the greens. His driving is solid, with enough length to handle most layouts, and his course IQ is respectable.

Iron play is the soft spot. His approach shots are less consistent than the rest of his game, so firm greens and demanding long irons can expose him, and The Long Course Championship is his toughest fit. His best course is The Spring Major, where his decent length, scrambling short game and steady nerve on sloping greens all come into play. Late in life he wrote his Personal Memoirs, published by Mark Twain's company and still praised as one of the finest American memoirs. That same quiet determination is his whole game. Draft him in the middle rounds and pair him with a precise iron player.

Plays like A quiet, determined grinder who keeps pressing until the round is won

Put Ulysses S. Grant in your lineup

5 rolls, a team of five, four majors. Can you win the Grand Slam? Free, no account.