diff --git a/cmd/kops/create_cluster.go b/cmd/kops/create_cluster.go
index 66184b1ac27e6..c8f69dd3946a3 100644
--- a/cmd/kops/create_cluster.go
+++ b/cmd/kops/create_cluster.go
@@ -496,9 +496,8 @@ func RunCreateCluster(f *util.Factory, out io.Writer, c *CreateClusterOptions) e
 		if cluster.Spec.CloudProvider == "" {
 			if allZones.Len() == 0 {
 				return fmt.Errorf("must specify --zones or --cloud")
-			} else {
-				return fmt.Errorf("unable to infer CloudProvider from Zones (is there a typo in --zones?)")
 			}
+			return fmt.Errorf("unable to infer CloudProvider from Zones (is there a typo in --zones?)")
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -1368,11 +1367,9 @@ func loadSSHPublicKeys(sshPublicKey string) (map[string][]byte, error) {
 		authorized, err := ioutil.ReadFile(sshPublicKey)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
-		} else {
-			sshPublicKeys[fi.SecretNameSSHPrimary] = authorized
-
-			glog.Infof("Using SSH public key: %v\n", sshPublicKey)
 		}
+		sshPublicKeys[fi.SecretNameSSHPrimary] = authorized
+		glog.Infof("Using SSH public key: %v\n", sshPublicKey)
 	}
 	return sshPublicKeys, nil
 }
diff --git a/cmd/kops/create_cluster_test.go b/cmd/kops/create_cluster_test.go
index d94eb1e7119f9..483b61303f4a4 100644
--- a/cmd/kops/create_cluster_test.go
+++ b/cmd/kops/create_cluster_test.go
@@ -36,9 +36,8 @@ func checkParse(t *testing.T, s string, expect map[string]string, shouldErr bool
 	if err != nil {
 		if shouldErr {
 			return
-		} else {
-			t.Errorf(err.Error())
 		}
+		t.Errorf(err.Error())
 	}
 
 	for k, v := range expect {
diff --git a/cmd/kops/replace.go b/cmd/kops/replace.go
index 86375e34428ed..7d502583c8aa3 100644
--- a/cmd/kops/replace.go
+++ b/cmd/kops/replace.go
@@ -165,9 +165,8 @@ func RunReplace(f *util.Factory, cmd *cobra.Command, out io.Writer, c *replaceOp
 				if err != nil {
 					if errors.IsNotFound(err) {
 						return fmt.Errorf("cluster %q not found", clusterName)
-					} else {
-						return fmt.Errorf("error fetching cluster %q: %v", clusterName, err)
 					}
+					return fmt.Errorf("error fetching cluster %q: %v", clusterName, err)
 				}
 				// check if the instancegroup exists already
 				igName := v.ObjectMeta.Name
diff --git a/cmd/kops/root.go b/cmd/kops/root.go
index 399a6acc0a314..87e02b923f121 100644
--- a/cmd/kops/root.go
+++ b/cmd/kops/root.go
@@ -221,9 +221,8 @@ func (c *RootCmd) ProcessArgs(args []string) error {
 
 	if len(args) == 1 {
 		return fmt.Errorf("Cannot specify cluster via --name and positional argument")
-	} else {
-		return fmt.Errorf("expected a single <clustername> to be passed as an argument")
 	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("expected a single <clustername> to be passed as an argument")
 }
 
 func (c *RootCmd) ClusterName() string {