Having no direction for course makes one bound to fail
I believe the answer is:
nonstarter
'one bound to fail' is the definition.
'having no direction for course' is the wordplay.
'having no' becomes 'no' (I've seen this in other clues).
'direction' becomes 'n' (N is an example).
'for' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'course' becomes 'starter' (course of a meal**).
'no'+'n'+'starter'='NONSTARTER'
'makes' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for nonstarter that I've seen before include "One who doesn't even begin" , "Hopeless idea" , "Unviable thing" , "Someone who is never going to succeed" , "Something with no chance of success" .)