KAPALUA, Hawaii — The Masters is about to let anyone play Augusta National — at least in a video game.

In another step toward reaching a younger audience, the Masters will be featured in EA Sports’ next edition of the popular “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12” golf game franchise.

The game is go on sale March 29, a week before the Masters, and will be available on Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation consoles. It will be the first time Augusta National has allowed its fabled golf course to be used for a video game.

“This is great for the sport and will connect a new audience with the Masters, a tournament I’ve been fortunate to experience since 1995,” said Woods, a four-time Masters champion. “Continually growing the visibility of golf is important to attracting newcomers to the sport, and I agree that showcasing the Masters Tournament in the game will bring an entirely new dimension to that approach.”

The move is part of a broader effort by the club to increase interest in golf around the world, especially among youth. In his four years as club chairman, Billy Payne started a program in which juniors can attend the Masters for free with an adult who has a season badge and televised the Par 3 tournament.

Payne also announced Tuesday the “Masters Tournament Foundation,” a charity arm that will allow Augusta National to invest in developmental programs around the world. Payne said all proceeds from the EA Sports game would go into the new foundation.

Payne first raised the idea of the Masters being part of video games two years ago while expanding the multimedia aspect of the tournament’s website.

“Well, we are not going to be included on other people’s video games,” he said at the 2008 tournament.

EA Sports, however, offered a technology that was hard to ignore. It developed a laser scanning technology that could capture every detail, from the sharp changes in elevation to the bloom on azaleas and dogwoods.

Peter Moore, the EA Sports president, said he has been in contact with Augusta National for the last three years. It took 10 days to laser the course, and the entire project took the equivalent of 10 people working around the clock for a full year on nothing but Augusta National.

“To his credit,” Moore said of Payne, “he sees the way a video game can actually grow knowledge in the sport.”