FMO writes:

SO... is this an age related thing - does the older CFI have a higher set of
standards as me is "protecting" HIS clubs aircraft

Personality, not age. Plus a different set of ulterior motives.

I am just left with the feeling that he does not want me to join and this is
a mechanism to block me.

That is certainly a possibility. It is, after all, a club, not a
profit-oriented business, so personality clashes are important, whereas simply
paying for a service is not.