Nuggets from the course

BOLTON -- Veteran running back Fred Taylor, who is in his first season with the Patriots, is taking part in his first Charitable Foundation Golf Tournament today at The International.

Taylor joked with reporters that he's already in the hole for about $90 because he showed up without a collar shirt, forcing him to purchase one.

Elsewhere, kicker Stephen Gostkowski, linebacker Tedy Bruschi, cornerbacks Jonathan Wilhite and Leigh Bodden, safety Matthew Slater, and tight end David Thomas are other players who have stopped by the roped-off press area to answer questions.

Gostkowski, who predicted that punter Chris Hanson would win today's long-drive competition, was asked his thoughts on working with new snappers Nathan Hodel and Jake Ingram.

"I think it's going smooth so far," he said. "You can't expect too much in minicamps. Once training camps and games get closer, you start seeing a little more. We haven't had too many bumps in the road and they're working hard. It always takes a couple weeks to get the timing down whenever you have a new guy, no matter how good they are. I think Chris [Hanson] has done a good job holding and doing a good job of getting in tune with Nate and Jake. Only time will tell [with the snappers] who comes out and does it more consistently."

Gostkowski was asked what type of difference he can tell between the snappers, who are vying to replace Lonie Paxton.

"There is a timing difference, and the closer to a game, you want to work with one guy," he said. "I'm just working on getting my timing down. It's a matter of tenths of seconds, but sometimes when I'm at a certain operation time, I kick better. It's all about timing and getting into a rhythm. Us kickers are weird about doing the same thing every time. That's what we're trying to do. Right now, we're just getting used to each other and feeling each other out."

When Adam Vinatieri was the Patriots' kicker, the operation focused on having the snap-hold-kick operation completed in 1.35 seconds.