There are actually a couple of pin positions on some of these holes on the course but I don't think that the CTTH games work that way.
In terms of chipping on the greens, while I don't do it, it is a perfectly legal shot, in fact one of the players did this at the Masters last week. WGT has made it more difficult to chip from the greens over the past year, something that I fully support. I don't believe that I can chip well enough from the greens to gain an advantage over putting, however I do see other players that are good at this, esp on a shot like the 2nd hole of the putting challenge.
In my mind it's sort of like hitting a 3 wood off the tee on a par four, the tee shot is meant to be struck with a driver but strategy tells you that a 3 wood is the best option.