"Ground effect" Isn't an effect, it's simply saying that the car body is being used for the ground plane reference of the whip, it's not optional it's required for the antenna to function. Obviously you don't need a car though =) Hopefully someone here knows more about antenna's than I do cause I'm not sure what you do for a ground plane on a mast mounted whip. I know it's not a problem though, just not sure how to do it. The center conductor of the coax cable would be wired to the actual antenna, and the shield of coax would be attached to the ground plane. BNC connectors are used quiet extensively for antenna connectors, but if you don't want to bother and don't mind having to solder to remove the antenna you can solder the conductor and shield directly to their needed connections.
Hopefully someone else here will be able to help you with the ground plane. Keep in mind however you're going to need some kind of lightning arrester on this, a 9 foot long heavy duty stainless steel rod stuck up in the air is a mighty attractive target for mother nature. While not technically needed for the antenna to function if your house catches on fire because your unprotected antenna let a lightning bolt into the house your insurances company is gonna tell you to take a hike.