Hi Andrew,
I'm following along with the thread, and have read about half of the research paper so far.
I was an engineer by training, and like others here, I see the core problem of minimizing score in terms of physics and statistics, and the decision making process as a non-discrete function. Sometimes you aim at the hole, and sometimes you aim two or four or fifteen yards away from the hole, and the number of factors that determine the aiming decision are many. If I think of anything else, I'll chime in. I'll finish reading first.
John