I was told that all balls made for PBA players are different then the ones sold to the general public. Is this true? If so, what are the differences?

I don't know. I dont see how they could make different balls. I am hoping someone that is on staff, and a PBA member could let us know.

Bowling balls used on or in PBA competition have to be available to the public

There have been plenty of rumors that balls will be made to look like a new release, but are actually something different (core, cover, etc.).  Not sure it will ever be truly known to be truth or not.  For instance, I have heard rumors that Chris Barnes was not happy with anything currently being offered by C300, so they basically made him some old balls he liked to look like the new releases. 

I had seen some Ebonite balls back in the day that were for a PBA regional player that had double logos on them compared to the single logo balls available to the public. Obviously being on TV you want the viewers to see the ball being used for potential buyers.

Then you had the several different versions of the Danger Zone back in the day that were known by pin colors as to what the balls cover was. They were available to the public but hard to find. Limited supply maybe.

Back in the day, say from the early 1980s to mid-1990s, one of the things that separated a Touring I and II PBA member from the rest of the bowling populace was their access to equipment. They also got it at prices (and probably still do) that were much, much cheaper. I remember the first time I got equipment at wholesale was in the mid-1990s, and that was only after a Regional guy told me about the place. Pieces that cost most people $109-$149 back then, I was able to get at $69 to $89.

The other advantage they had back then was knowledge of ball layouts. You rarely saw a "league" bowler back then with any exotic layouts or balance holes of any kind drilled. But you saw a lot of that once you hung around the Touring I and II guys.

I'm glad that the wealth of information out there with the Internet has somewhat leveled the playing field. I know it's helped accelerate my negotiating this learning curve in my return to bowling after being away for 18 years. Otherwise, I couldn't imagine how long it would take me to get a grasp of the changes.

i remember the year doug kent won the two majors at the begining and end of the season, the second major he won on the show he was using a "no mercy" what he was really using was a blue vibe colored black and stamped like a no mercy because that was their new high performance release

Rico,

   I was talking in terms the difference in access to equipment, etc. a Regional/National pro had versus "league" bowlers from back in the day.