Playmate Ashley Mattingly Charged for Drunken Golf Cart Ride

Ashley Mattingly might wanna cut back on the weekend cruising ... she faces 4 charges for allegedly plowing her golf cart into 4 parked cars while she was hammered.

The Orange County D.A. hit the former Playmate with 3 counts of driving under the influence -- including 1 for drugs -- and 1 additional count of hit-and-run with property damage -- all misdemeanors. It's also alleged that her BAC was at least .20%.

TMZ broke the news of Ashley's arrest, but she has a different story of what went down ... including a strong drink defense of why she was wasted. She faces up to a year behind bars if convicted on all 4 counts.