I've also been sort of annoyed at the whole, "golf is the key to success in the business world" adage. If their skill at swinging a long strip of metal is how you judge potential employees or partners, then maybe I'll take my business elsewhere.
But there is one thing that I will admit might be useful for judging character. I hosted a basketball recruit last night. He was an awesome guy, and by the looks of it a great basketball player too. But the one caveat is that when we were playing Madden 08, he had the ball at fourth-and-two on his own forty yard line, early in the game, and... he punted it.
I mean, I don't care if you haven't mastered precision passing, or if you can't time the hit stick, but you've got to be willing to pull the trigger on fourth and short. You've got to be willing to go for it. And if I'm hiring somebody to be a big mover and shaker, maybe it's worth the time to play a game of Madden to see whether or not they're willing to push that envelope.
