Pros:
Trinity Links doesn't exactly give the best first impression upon arriving, but things turn around quickly. The course is either on the property of, or accessed from, some sort of sober living/rehab facility. Ok, I'm not exactly sure which group this place is a home for, but you will often run into residents wandering around the parking lot acting a little off. Yes, you're in the right place, this is actually the parking lot for the course. Once you get to the bulletin board and first tee area, your impression should already be changing. The first hole requires a fairly short, right to left, water carry from the A and B tees with a few trees to keep you honest. The shot from the C tee is an open rhbh hyzer that takes the water out of play unless you skip too far left. The second hole also brings the pond into play from 2 of the 3 tees, but also adds more trees to force you to hit your line. The basket is suspended by chains from a large, horizontal, hardwood limb. Not at all what one would expect upon pulling into the parking lot.
The course continues with a nice mix of open and wooded holes. Some of the open holes provide an opportunity to really crush distance drivers, while the wooded holes force you to shape lines with little margin for error. There isn't much water in play after the first two holes, with the exception of a small, dirty pond short and left of 15's basket and a very narrow creek running through a few holes that is not much of an obstacle. There are a couple of true multi-shot holes and a few that are challenging par 3s for long throwers and two shot holes for the sub 300' crowd. I really enjoyed the par 4 hole 7. It has three different tees which change up the first shot. The first shot is very open from all of the tees, but you need to be in the right area to access the green with your second.
Many holes feature three tees and almost all have at least two. The A and B tees are generally similar shots, with B being longer and often slightly off line to restrict shot selection. The C tees offer a completely different look from the other two tees. All tees are grippy concrete with plenty of length. Baskets are older Mach 3s with extra inner chains added. I can't really offer an opinion on their catching ability, my (frequent) misses were almost all airballs. Signs are only at the A tees, but they show distances and locations for all tees on a basic map. In addition to the hanging basket on 2, there are a few elevated baskets and some well protected greens.
Cons:
There isn't much elevation change to this property. That limits the potential shot variety. As alluded above, there are a few holes out here that will be tweeners for many players. Very few players will have the distance to reach the green from the tee; most will be left with an open, sub-150' approach. Either shortening, lengthening, or adding obstacles to these would make for more interesting golf.
Navigation can be a bit tricky in places, and with signs only at the A tees you have to do even more walking if playing Bs or Cs. Most signs have an arrow pointing to the next tee area, but you have to remember to look for it before heading down the fairway. I was the most unsure of where to go after playing 4. To find 5, walk back past the hole 1 tee area and the tees are slightly to the left near the fence. Long tees for holes 4 and 10 are the same tee, you just tee in opposite directions. There are some overlapping fairways, and some baskets and tees are closer together than is ideal for safety and pace of play. The layout also results in some backtracking to get to the next tee in a few places.
Other Thoughts:
I recently played Trinity Links for the first time in probably a decade, the course was a lot nicer than I remembered. Not that it was a lousy course in the past, I just don't remember there being so many tees and I don't think they were all concrete. There is a nice little pavilion with a picnic table and there are plenty of benches to rest your legs. Although the course is a bit rough around the edges, you can tell that the locals have been putting in a lot of work to maintain and improve. I'm giving this course a 3.5, but it is really close to a 4. This course would be a 3.75 on my scale if we could use quarter point increments. While I definitely prefer both the nearby Canyons and Highland Park courses, Trinity Links is a solid course in its own right. On a nice day, when the Canyons is inevitably packed, Trinity should have significantly less traffic. Lots of great golf in the Joliet area, but traveling players shouldn't skip this one.
While I've never personally felt unsafe out here, I can understand how the residents/guests could spook some people. I'm not trying to pass judgement and don't know what type of issues this residence serves, but players new to the course should know what to expect. There's a good chance there will be strange dudes wandering aimlessly around the parking area. I don't know if the guy who is always looking to bum cigarettes is still around, but in my experience most of the other residents mostly keep their distance. All the same, I think most players tend to get from their cars to the first tee quicker than they would at a different course.