Paul, good points. When I was West VC renewals were the bane of my existence. To make life easier from a clerical standpoint, my thought would be that any unchanged course be resubmitted by the original measurer (he/she could use the original map, and original calculations) with an attached note stating that the current course is the same as originally measured. The VC would then issue a new cert. number as if it was a new course, noting the old course number in the "Replaces" field on the cert.
This would keep things a lot cleaner clerically for the VC's and Registrar.
So technically we would NOT be allowing renewals again, but rather allowing courses to be reCERTIFIED using the original paperwork and data, as Jay proposes, with the stipulation that some sort of in-person inspection be performed.