Don't let anyone tell you otherwise: golf is about getting trashed and seeing if you can still manage to ever put the ball in the cup. While on a business outing, the object of the game is now to play WORSE than the exec you are there with. Golf is no longer a competition, but a social function. Turns out I don't enjoy social functions OR golf.
It is a social game, but i'm not sure how much it's not as social as basketball or any other sport really. Those who don't play for money or to win an executive over (redundant) play in order to hang out with their friends. The game itself has its own interesting skill to acquire, but I guess since it doesn't have an athletic component it's lost in the "shuffle" of old person games.
Maybe in movies. I played golf in high school, and not everyone is out there to get drunk. Many people enjoy the game because it's difficult and interesting. Executives, even...