"Hmmn, a "chip" in the real world is intended to just clear an obstacle...i/e when on the fairway or just off the green, then run to the hole like a putt...seems to do that quite well."
If you chip with a 7 iron or 5 iron this is true. However, if you chip with a wedge is flies further than it rolls. Chip with a SW and it flies 75% of the distance and stops quite quickly. Take a lesson with a pro and that's the first thing they will tell you. Read any book on golf instruction and it will tell you the same thing. Go and play golf and compare a 7 iron and wedge when chipping and you can see it with your own eyes. In this game you can't chip onto the green safely if you are more than 2 yards off the green because it won't carry. It's like they modelled the chip on a 5 iron regardless of what club you actually select. It's one thing they got wrong.