My 2 cents worth....

1) The shafts you have in those TM's are (aside from the Exsars in Mizunos) the worst OEM shaft in the industry...they have a horrble deflection consistancy...usually softer than stated and never aligned properly.

2) If the steel shafts you tried were 1/2" longer than you had THREE things going against you...stiffer, longer and HEAVIER than you're using...of COURSE these are going to go away from you.

3) The science of graphite shafts have changed dramatically over the last few years...now you can get a good set, select weight, lauch angle, torque and feel at or in some cases cheaper than premium steel shafts....and every bit as accurate and due to the density, can make them hit longer with same accuracy.

Don't give up on graphite!

The reasons to use graphite far outweigh the reasons not to....assuming you're talking to an open minded person...