Go has some inlining, but it is fairly primitive compared to gcc. Even Java does better. Inlining is a very important part of an optimizing compiler... There are design reasons why Go might never match C with respect to function inlining.
Bounds checking is still expensive in Go compare to Java... to say nothing of C. That might get quite a bit better over time as there is no reason for Go to do poorly in this respect.
And if your code needs to call a C or C++ library (like, say, a video driver), Go makes you pay a high price. This might get a bit better, but only to a point.
Go will never be as fast as C. Whether this matters is another story.
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Go has some inlining, but it is fairly primitive compared to gcc. Even Java does better. Inlining is a very important part of an optimizing compiler... There are design reasons why Go might never match C with respect to function inlining. Bounds checking is still expensive in Go compare to Java... to say nothing of C. That might get quite a bit better over time as there is no reason for Go to do poorly in this respect. And if your code needs to call a C or C++ library (like, say, a video driver), Go makes you pay a high price. This might get a bit better, but only to a point. Go will never be as fast as C. Whether this matters is another story.