Former Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Rory Stewart will be coaching a different kind of straight drive after making the decision to end his career on the PSA Squash Tour.
In a great pro squash career, Stewart represented Scotland at three World Team Championships and 10 European Team Championships (in which the men's team won bronze in 2016, 2019 and 2022) in addition to his treasured Commonwealth bronze alongside Greg Lobban in the men's doubles at Birmingham 2022.
Now, aged 30, Stewart has decided to end his squash career and go into coaching — but not on the squash court.
Stewart, who was a scratch golfer in his teens, has now taken up a role as assistant golf professional at the well-to-do Rudding Park hotel, resort and golf centre in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
"How they let a broad Scotsman like me through the door, I don't know!" he jokes to Squash Player.
"I'm having to enunciate my words each day, but I'm really loving it so far."
Stewart will learn on the job, beginning his PGA pro qualification at The Belfry in October while he and another newly-appointed assistant run the junior section at Rudding Park working under two head coaches.
Having previously coached squash at Galashiels, The Grange and Edinburgh Sports Club, as well as coaching local kids at various tournaments, Stewart has adapted easily to the driving range in his first couple of weeks on the job.
"Coaching is always something I've enjoyed doing and had a passion for," he says.
"It was a choice between coaching squash or golf. With squash, I probably would've had to move to the States to make it viable and that was something I wasn't sure about."
Growing up in Perth, the Stewarts were a very sporty family. Rory and his brother played all summer at Crieff Golf Club, then Rory would put his clubs away and flip to squash in the winter months. "It was a nice balance," he says.
Rory and his brother were awarded scholarships with the Gleneagles Foundation in their early teens and made it into the Scottish development squad.
Rory played in Scottish and English U14 Championships, and on one occasion played alongside Robert McIntyre, who's been a member of Europe's last two Ryder Cup teams.
"He blew the field away and I knew then I wouldn't really make it in golf, seeing how good he was," Stewart recalls.
"I played at a good standard and I think I came 21st in that event, but I never took golf massively seriously.
"All my friends played and they still play. I saw it as a social sport and if I could shoot a good score, that was a bonus. Squash was taking me around Europe by my late teens, so I took that more seriously.
"The age I am now, my brother and all of my friends are getting married and all of our stag dos are golf holidays. I want to keep my standard up so I can take a few quid off my pals."
In recent years, Stewart's PSA world ranking had somewhat plateaud since reaching a career-high of 40 at the end of 2023. But that wasn't the main reason behind his decision to quit the Tour.
"One massive factor was squash getting cut from the Commonwealth Games," he reveals.
"I only made it to one, which I'm extremely grateful for. I just missed out in 2018, so this one [Glasgow 2026, which finished last month] was something I very much wanted to participate in."
The Australian state of Victoria abruptly withdrew as host of this year's Commonwealth Games back in July 2023. Glasgow stepped in, but with limited preparation time, the sporting programme was cut from 19 sports to just 10. Squash was one of the sports to be culled.
Taking place in his home nation, it would have been hugely inspiring for Stewart to keep training and competing. But without that impetus, his zest gradually ebbed away. At least he'll always have the memories of a glorious fortnight in Birmingham in 2022.
"I managed to play the best squash of my life in that week," he says.
An epic comeback against his Pontefract training partner Patrick Rooney in the singles last 16 on the glass court at Birmingham University was followed by another five-game marathon, this time ending in brave defeat, against defending champion James Willstrop in the quarter-finals.
But it was the doubles alongside Greg Lobban which will forever be his most treasured moment on a squash court. Beating Malaysia's Eain Yow Ng and Ivan Yuen earned the pair Commonwealth bronze medals.
"Playing for Scotland is something that always motivated me," he says. "Before the more recent Olympic decision, the Commonwealths was the pinnacle of the sport, so when it was cut [in Glasgow] it was quite a blow for me.
"Towards the end of my career, my results weren't so good and the desire to train as hard as I had done previously, that dropped. I sensed that it was time for me to call it a day."
He will continue to play for his club teams, The Northern in the North West Counties League and Pontefract in the Yorkshire Premier League ("It might help keep my belly slim in the winter months," he chuckles), but hasn't yet decided whether to continue playing for Scotland at European and World Team Championships.
"I have hummed and hawed about that a fair bit," he admits. "I think my drop-off will be quite severe. If I'm allowed to play at no.4, I might think about it.
"I don't want to keep a young 'up and comer' out of the squad just because I want to play for the sake of playing. I know what it feels like to be an 18-year-old trying to get into the team and how valuable it is to be there, learning from other players. I'll see how my league results are and take it from there."
Stewart may not be totally lost to the squash community, but the PSA Tour's loss is certainly golf's gain.
