I bought 2 x 4mm carbon rods (1m length) from the hobby shop and ground a "U" in the middle of both of them with an angle grinder.
Grind it only half way through the rod and about 4-5mm wide. This allows you to cross the two rods at the center without one rod being higher than the other.

I then simply cable tied the 2 rods together in the center where notched and then attached the 4 rods to the landing gear with cable ties - as per std approach everyone uses.

I didn't even bother with ping-pong balls - it's up to you, the rods are more likely to stick in the ground at angles, especially on grass, so it's up to you if you
want the balls or not... My setup was really easy and no worries about making any sort of joiner in the middle...

This method the rods stick out quite horizontally at nearly half a meter (which is great) rather than down at angles - which I like better as the heli is actually resting on the landing gear and not the rods.

I guess you could do the same with wooden rods but the carbon ones are better I think and probably lighter...
It's probablt one of the cheapest setup at $13 AU (approx $10US) and that's at expensive hobby shop prices...

Best still - if they dod split or break - just get a new rod!!!