Great post, John. I'd never thought about it in quite this way, but I think that you are right. I've had one hole-in-one: The ball disappeared some ten seconds after landing on the putting surface (the green was rock hard and the shot was downwind; I had to use an extreme slope on the front left of the green to funnel the ball to the middle right hole location). The result was thrilling to be sure, but the real pleasure was watching that ball travel.
Interestingly enough, John's theory might conflict with an idea proposed in the wonderful book "Why Golf?" In that book, the author suggests that one reason that golf is addicting is that humans naturally enjoy controlling inanimate objects, and that golf lets human exercise this instinct allowing them to propel a tiny ball with a stick in a very precise manner. But, once a ball hits the ground and runs, the golfer is very much at the discretion of the rub of the green.
Why then do we love seeing the ball run out? Is "Why Golf?" only partly right? Do golfers, in addition to enjoying controlling the ball, also love being at the mercy of the elements and luck?
Or, is it that the golfer convinces himself that, when the ball bounces and rolls just right, it is as a result of the perfect shot, and not of luck? Such a golfer will clearly get more thrill from a shot that takes a long time to come to rest after hitting the ground, because a positive result is so much more difficult to achieve in the "firm and fast" conditions.