diff --git a/tools/gce/linux_performance_worker_init.sh b/tools/gce/linux_performance_worker_init.sh
index ab29e015e0444d61419796f6784e1b46046c1aac..3380f3de3e5c9b8625dad0a60be5899260edd898 100755
--- a/tools/gce/linux_performance_worker_init.sh
+++ b/tools/gce/linux_performance_worker_init.sh
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ gem install bundler
 # Significant performance improvements with grpc-go have been observed after
 # upgrading from go 1.5 to a later version, so a later go version is preferred.
 # Following go install instructions from https://golang.org/doc/install
-GO_VERSION=1.7.1
+GO_VERSION=1.8
 OS=linux
 ARCH=amd64
 curl -O https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go${GO_VERSION}.${OS}-${ARCH}.tar.gz