If you've ever noticed a putt from the fringe on any sizable length... the ball is in the air for the first 2 feet or so.  Your putter has about 4 degrees of loft. I will chip if I have more than 2-3 feet of fringe to roll through or if the the grass is leaning towards me... which brings up a whole new problem.

Well sorry but not a big fan of this one. Too many ‘it depends.’ How much green do I have to work with? Is it downhill or uphill? Downhill I’m using putter. A lot of green and uphill I’m chipping. But generally I use putter anytime I can.

Not enough information to decide.  3’ can be very different than 6’.  The actual lie and grain orientation of the grass is important.  As is the distance to the hole and the contour of the green between me and the hole.

Chip, every time.  I am terrible at judging how much the fringe is going to take off my speed, whereas I can judge the speed of the chip basically as if I was putting from the same distance.

I played this course twice yesterday.  95 and 93, so not 90, but not awful, either (for me).  Get par on that hole both times, with the 5 wood.  First time pulled it far enough left that I had a shot at the green (though over a tree) with a PW, and hit it pin high, maybe 20 feet.  Second time was less left, zipped right through the FW bunker on the left, to 97 yards.  SW went about 99, a little right (perhaps the wind, or I just can't aim!) to about 15 feet.  Birdie putt scared it, easy par.  Proves nothing, of course, but that hole isn't my issue!  I do think I will go to driver, though, once I believe it will stay on the course on that hole.  There just isn't a lot of room for error.  I hit several drives on other holes that were totally playable that could well have been OB on #1. Actually ended the first round with 3 straight pars, then the par on #1 the second time around for 4 in a row.  That could be a first.