  We propose a new strategy for the determination of the QCD coupling. It
relies on a coupling computed in QCD with $N_{\rm f} \geq 3$ degenerate heavy
quarks at a low energy scale $\mu_{\rm dec}$, together with a non-perturbative
determination of the ratio $\Lambda/\mu_{\rm dec}$ in the pure gauge theory. We
explore this idea using a finite volume renormalization scheme for the case of
$N_{\rm f} = 3$ QCD, demonstrating that a precise value of the strong coupling
$\alpha_s$ can be obtained. The idea is quite general and can be applied to
solve other renormalization problems, using finite or infinite volume
intermediate renormalization schemes.
