DALTON, Ga. -- The stakes have been raised.
Gift certificates to Dalton Golf and Country Club are on the line for all of the amateurs participating in the North Georgia Invitational tournament this weekend.
And it's a family affair this year after that.
Mike Nance has a wager with his son, Nash, the former Calhoun High School, University of Tennessee and Hampden-Sydney quarterback who has a decision to make in the next few weeks about whether to continue playing football or head into the business world.
They both own nice SUVs, and one has to clean the other's thoroughly, depending on today's outcome.
"I'm not talking about just washing, I'm talking about detailing the car inside and out," the younger Nance said. "It's a three-hour job, so it's going to be a long process. So late Sunday, one of us is going to be cleaning a car."
One vehicle will be spotless, vacuumed and cleaned as if it were coming off a showroom floor. One vehicle belongs to Mike Nance, the redheaded father who smacked drives about 270 yards in the air before his tee time at the North Georgia Invitational.
"There's not a bunch of people (in business) screaming in your ear for 60 minutes," said the younger Nance, who will decide between playing pro football in Canada or working in the financial induustry within the next couple of weeks. "But I promise you that there's just as much pressure as taking snaps as a quarterback."
Sean Elliott, the Dalton State star who recently won the NAIA individual championship, leads the competition after a first-round 6-under-par 66. He's followed by his coach, Ben Rickett, and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Brooks Thomas. William Hamilton is alone in fourth place.
More than any event on the Chattanooga TPC series, the NGI brings together family and friends and combines them all with competition. The Nashes aren't the only father-son duo on the course this weekend.
The Lamb family includes Tre, who is an assistant football coach for his uncle Bobby at Mercer University as well as the son of Hal Lamb, whose Calhoun football team won the Georgia Class AAA state championship last fall.
They love the competition.
The competition even continues over to vacation days.
"This NGI tournament is about pride because we've all played here so much," Tre Lamb said. "We have a summer tournament with each of us. That's big. But this is big, too."
Nash Nance, who had dreams of signing with an NFL team this summer, is considering his options. Three major companies have requested that he join their teams. Two Canadian football teams have made the same request.
Nash shot 4 over par Saturday. His dad, who shot 8 over in the first round, had better start making birdies or find the vacuum cleaner and a wash bucket.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.