FREEPORT — Asked to describe the strengths of his golf game, former New England Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower is as blunt as his coach Bill Belichick breaking down game tape.

“Terrible on the tee box. I get the yips when I putt. But with a wedge in my hand, I can be all right sometimes. Chip in, 120 in, I’ll be all right,” Hightower said.

Since retiring from the NFL in 2023, Hightower has fed his competitive instincts on the golf course. If he can no longer hit quarterbacks, he can hit that little ball. Hitting it straight is a work in progress, but getting there is half the fun.

Monday afternoon, Hightower was at the Alexa Re Rancourt Golf Learning Center as part of Bank of America’s Golf With Us program. Hightower worked with kids from the Boys and Girls Clubs in Lewiston and Portland, introducing them to the game he’s grown to love.

Golf is a sport he can play with his mom and sister, Hightower said. It’s life condensed to 18 holes. Golf is a test of willpower, determination and resiliency, he said.

“You go out there and hit 100 balls, your golf game will get better, but you as a person, you dedicate your time to something to better yourself,” Hightower said.

Drafted in the first round out of Alabama by the Patriots, 25th overall, in 2012, Hightower was a key player on three of New England’s Super Bowl champion teams. There’s no doubt he made two of the most important defensive plays in team history. First, in Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks, Hightower tackled Marshawn Lynch at the 1-yard line late in the fourth quarter. One play later, Malcolm Butler’s interception clinched the win for New England, but that doesn’t happen if Hightower doesn’t put Lynch on the turf.

In Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons, his sack and forced fumble on Matt Ryan was one of the plays that helped the Patriots overcome a 28-3 deficit and win, 34-28.

Two things gave Hightower the golf bug. First, a cousin convinced him to come out and play a round.

“I went out there, stank it up, and chased the ball around for about an hour and a half. There was three or four of us out there, we were out there for about five hours playing nine holes,” Hightower said.

Last year, his wife Morgan gifted Hightower tickets to The Masters. Walking Augusta National and seeing the game played at that level, that flipped a switch. I’ll never be PGA good, Hightower thought, but if I practice I can be decent. This game can be fun.

Hightower spent the 2024 season as a linebacker coach with the Patriots under head coach Jerod Mayo. Last fall he helped coach at Brentwood Academy, a high school back home in Tennessee. He watched the Patriots from afar and was impressed with their run to the AFC title.

“Drake’s doing his thing, right? I love to see it,” he said of quarterback Drake Maye. “I really enjoyed watching those guys come into their own, create their own identity.”

Hightower wore the ring he earned in Super Bowl LII when the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams. He’d only worn one of his rings in public once before, when he called Joejuan Williams’ name as New England’s second-round pick at the 2019 draft. There was no special reason he chose the Rams ring. He’s blessed to be able to select one collection of diamonds over others.

Hightower was raised to be, as he put it, somebody’s blessing. Give back when and where you can. Now that’s in golf. A great game, he said, but expensive. The Golf With Us program allows kids to learn the game for $5 a round. He hoped the kids who came out Monday left with an appreciation of some of the etiquette and nuances of the game, and the desire to play more.

“The game of golf is a lot like life. It’s a lot of growth. You get out of it what you put into it. Just come out and have fun,” Hightower said.

If some of the kids on the course Monday afternoon could experience that feeling that comes when you strike the ball perfectly and it goes exactly where you want it to go, Hightower would be happy. Asked to describe that feeling, Hightower closed his eyes, lifted his head toward the sun, and smiled.

“Like winning a Super Bowl, man. It’s like winning a Super Bowl ring,” he said. “I try to play a lot, and you can be out there for 17 holes. That last hole, it might be a putt, it might be a chip, but that last (shot), it will get you coming back.”

As he offered high-fives and encouragement to kids on the putting green, it wasn’t golf that Hightower was trying to pass on. It was the appreciation that comes with working for something.